You can't keep a good Jew down.

Yom shishi, 12 Iyar 5772.

Hey, holy Yidden!  Specifically, holy Israelis!  Wanna feel a little national pride?

Israeli para-athlete Moran Samuel won an international rowing competition in Gavirate, Italy. The organizers weren’t expecting her to win, so they hadn’t bothered to secure a recording of the Israeli national anthem, “Hatkivah.”
When Samuel found out there would be no anthem played when she was on the podium, she asked for the mic and started singing herself.  (Quoted directly from the blog 6 Degrees No Bacon Celebrity Roundup.

This is the indomitable spirit that makes me proud of my People.



And speaking of the resilience of the Jewish people...

With much gratitude to all of the people all over the world who have been praying for my dear friend Stella -- aka Tzuriya Kochevet bat Sara -- I would like to amplify the good news shared by her husband Yarden.  As Yarden says, "I know it's sefira [a period when many Jews do not listen to music, due to our collective pain at the loss of 24,000 students of Rabbi Akiva to plague], but sometimes you just gotta sing."  Please share Yarden's joy over the latest news at his blog post Gotta Song in My Head.  It will lift your spirits.  Hodu Lashem, Ki Tov, Ki L'Olam Chasdo!  (Thank Hashem, for he is good.  His loving-kindness is forever!)

Please feel free to share any examples you have of uplifting stories in the lives of Jews you know, in the Comments section.  You will add to the happiness, and publicize the miracles.  Nice way to go into a Shabbat!

Thanks, Mom! We needed that!

Yom sheni, 14 Tevet 5772.

We are all about kiddush Hashem, honoring the name of G-d in this world.  We are nothing if we are not living that goal.  With all of the turmoil in the Jewish world today that causes me to have a vision of the Satan scoffing at our failure to fulfill that goal, Yarden's mother's letter gives me reason to hope.  It's the little things, all strung together, that will save the world in the end.

Letter from Mom

by Yarden Frankl

January 9th, 2012

I didn’t feel any need to write an update today, since no words can match the picture below. But then my Mom (who had come with my Dad to help out) asked that I send her letter out to “Stella’s Army.”

Dear Stella’s Army:

On our flight and since getting home, I keep thinking about what you are doing for my family. To me, you are the meaning of true religion. Your support, kindness, and help to Stella and Yarden, my wonderful grandchildren and to Jerry and myself is beyond what ever the ancient sages could have imagined.

You are truly the interpretation of the Talmud as it should be. I have sat through many a college and graduate course in religion and philosophy and have never really understood what religion is all about until I saw you and your deeds.

The Rabbi who came to talk with Stella right before she left for her most challenging experience (if you don’t count being married to Yarden [HA! -Ed.]), the Rabbi who called from Maryland right after the operation, the unbelievable people who are staying with Stella so she should never be alone in the hospital, the people who kept bringing food so I shouldn’t have to cook, the super people who took me to get the things the children needed, and the ones who kept my husband company while I was gone, the children’s friends who came to keep my grandchildren company so they could get their minds away from what their mother was enduring, the countless other people who kept volunteering anything they could to make the time more palatable – you are truly the reason we have been put on this earth.

Thank you all from the bottom of my heart. I understand your support of Stella – she is one of the most amazingly good people I know.

But your support of Yarden is above and beyond – we all know he is slightly mezhuganah (don’t forget I have known him from birth), so as his mother, I truly thank you.

With much love and gratitude for your unending kindness,

Anthea Frankl

Whenever I was trying to accomplish something "impossible," a little pep-talk from my dear Mama, a"h, could carry me to the finish line. Thanks, Yarden's Mom. We needed that. May we share happy news beyond our greatest imaginings! Please keep davening for the complete and speedy recovery of Tzuriya Kochevet bat Sara. Thank you!

The Dawn of a New Day

Yom sheni, 17 Cheshvan 5772.

Once upon a time, there was a beautiful princess whose people were from a far-away land.  She climbed mountains and crossed seas to marry her handsome prince.  At last, after scaling unbelievable heights and spanning unimaginable depths, they married and had children and were happy.  They moved to a mountain in a Wondrous Kingdom, and they were happier still.

One day, the princess got very, very sick.

And now it was the prince's turn to scale unbelievable heights and span unimaginable depths in order to fight against the terrible sickness, which seemed very much like a great, coiled dragon.  The prince put on his armor, and prepared to do battle with the forces of darkness.

The people of the village on the mountain gathered to see the prince off.

 Weavers and dyers made beautiful garments for the occasion.

The youth of the village adorned the trees and flowers with lavender balloons to remind the prince that he was not alone.  The village sage gave a speech of encouragement.  And then the prince departed.

He rode his trusty steed for hours and hours and hours, over hills and up mountains, covering miles and miles and miles in an attempt to slay the dragons that terrorized the nights, and to bring hope to himself and his princess and their children.

In the process, he brought hope to his community.  But not just to his community.  As the prince traveled those many miles, he brought hope to his people, those who were scattered across the globe, and those who were just around the corner.  There were knights with trusty steeds who joined the prince on his travels.  There were builders and bakers and memory stick makers.  There were minstrels and carriage drivers.  There were even court jesters.

As he rode, spreading his message of hope, the prince discovered time and again that he was not riding alone.  There were runners and riders.  There were people walking dogs, and dogs walking people.

There were those who traveled through space and time to share in the prince's struggle, among those longing for the dawn, longing for the dawn.  All along his route, the prince and the princess were reminded that many, many people had been longing to give a hand in the fight against the dragons and on behalf of goodness and kindness.

The people completed the ride together.  The prince and the princess and their children shared weary but joyful smiles.  The war was not over.  Not yet.  But they had won this battle.  And they knew that they would never, ever be alone.  Together, and with the help of the Mighty King, they knew that they could make it to the bright light of morning.

"Behold, how good and how pleasant is the dwelling of brothers in unity!...  May there be life forever!"

Please continue to daven for Tzuriya Kochevet bat Sara, among the other precious cholim of Am Yisrael.

Additional photos borrowed (ehhhhhhhh...) from Laura Ben-David.

Reason to Rejoice, Permission to Participate

Yom shlishi, 4 Cheshvan 5772.

To all of our excellent friends who have been davening with us over the months for the refua shelaima of Stella (Tzuriya Kochevet bat Sarah), please read Yarden's latest blog post, and share our hope and happiness.  (The short version: against all odds, Stella's situation has improved dramatically.  The Frankls thank you for your prayers, and say "Keep 'em comin'!")

Those who can attend this crazy all-night ride-a-thon, details are available in this post.  (The Dearly Beloved and I will be sitting in lawn chairs on the sidelines at some unspecified ridiculous hour of the morning to shake pompoms and yell "Go, Team Frankl!"  We will try to drink beer to rub in the fact that we are NOT exercising.  And we'll be there at the finish line at 6:15 AM to accept our share of the accolades.)

Those who cannot attend, due to being unfortunately delayed with business overseas, please join us in donating to the cause, which is bigger than all of us.  The need to "do something" is strong in all caring human beings...  and straddling a bike for 12 hours is more difficult for me than pushing a "donate" button.  And I'll feel just as involved as Yarden will, without the need for mass quantities of diaper rash ointment.  (Heh-heh, Yarden.  You go, boy.)

And finally, add Stella's dream to your prayers.  "B'ezrat Hashem, we will stay on track, and we'll surprise my doctor again after the next scan! I really want to be written up in a medical journal (egoist that I am) about the miraculous case of Stella Frankl!"

There is no limit to the number of people who can be on Team Frankl.  Dust off your bike.  Make a pledge.  Or just pray with all your heart that this fine young mother gets her dream.  May we share joyful news!

Glossary:
Refua shelaima: complete recovery

The eagle has landed, bringing more of my brothers Home.

Yom shlishi, 15 Tamuz 5769.

Our friend Yarden has written another fine and heartfelt post on his blog, Crossing the Yarden.  He gave me the honor of agreeing to be a guest here.  If you didn't get to farewell the new olim on the North American side of the world, or greet them on the Israeli side, you can still catch a little of the Nefesh B'Nefesh aliyah fever by watching the recording at http://www.nbn.org.il/live/.

Dear Eric and Laurie,

So now you know.

No matter how much I try and explain what it is like emotionally for
those of us who have made aliyah, it is a hopeless task. In the end,
it is only those who step off the plane with an “Oleh” sticker on
their shirt and a exhausted but happy smile on their faces that can
ever truly comprehend the Aliyah experience.

You have left your homes, your jobs, your friends, and your family
for….. Well that’s just it. You know in full detail what you have left
but you cannot have anything more than a vague concept of what you are
getting. You have a vision and have followed your dream, but tomorrow
you open your eyes and see the reality.

What are these details? What will your life be like?

You will marvel that the Kotel, the holiest site in Judaism for
thousands of years is just a short car ride away. You will be
frustrated when you try and translate “taco shells” into Hebrew at the
supermarket. You will be filled with pride when your children sing
Hatikva on Yom Hatzmaut, and will be at a loss when you need to get
your car through the annual inspection process. Your children will
delight in racing around a kosher food court in a mall, and you will
wonder how on Earth everyone you know lives in “minus.”

You will scream, and cry, and grasp each other when you hear the
terrible news that is a tragic part of life here. You will be filled
with rage from top to bottom when you watch Israel’s enemies act like
human beings on television. And you will be filled with an almost
inexplicable joy every time you see a young Israeli man or woman
wearing the green of the Israeli Defense Forces.

You will have fierce arguments with friends and neighbors over
anything and everything in the news. And you will end up feeling
closer to them than friends and neighbors can ever feel. You will
laugh, cry, joke, and lean on them because that’s how Israelis get
through things, be they wonderful or terrible.

Many leaders of the world, in a sincere but naïve attempt to create
“peace,” say Jewish settlement in the heartland of Israel is not
legitimate. They will look at you and your children and label you
“obstacles to peace.” The “experts” on the Sunday news shows will try
and explain how your desire to live over the “Green Line” is the moral
equivalent of the desire of others to do you harm.
But even Presidents and experts are without a clue when it comes to
the desire of Jews to return to the  places that our ancestors were
forced out of thousand of years ago.

What you did today was not just a move. Your decision to build a home
and a life for you and your children and one day grandchildren is a
message that is heard around the world. The ongoing return of the
Jewish people to the Jewish national home cannot be stopped. And you
and your children are a part of this amazing revolution.

And maybe four years from now, you will be working in front of a
computer one morning. You will have forgotten the joy and exhaustion
of your aliyah day and be more preoccupied with paying the mortgage
and deciding what to make for dinner. Then you will take a break and
watch a live arrival ceremony at Ben Gurian airport, and the tears
will roll as you watch a few hundred more happy and clueless new
immigrants walk off a plane and onto the beautiful roller coaster that
is life in the nation of Israel.

To Eric, Laurie, and all the other Olim,

You made it. Welcome home.

Yarden Frankl, Neve Daniel, Israel

And if you still have room for a bit more vicarious aliyah, check out my friend Romi Sussman's blog post for today at Sussmans b'Aretz.  And for fans of the book, MOVING UP: An Aliyah Journal, word has it that Laura Ben David will be greeting TWO of her sisters on this flight with a very special sign.
Bli ayin hara, puh-puh-puh.  Kein yirbu.