And since Yom Kippur is just fading out, I thought some of you would enjoy the following ode to an old people:
Amazing! Incredible! Unbelievable!
Wednesday this week we Jews have begun our 5,765th year on this earth! Who would have
believed this possible? If anyone had told Abraham [otherwise called Ibrahim by our cousins (the Arabs)] that his people would be around this long he probably would have been astounded.
Imagine, we did this without beheading anyone, without a single suicide bomber, without kidnapping and murdering school children, without slaughtering Olympic athletes, and without flying airplanes into skyscrapers.
We lasted this long despite 400 years as slaves in Egypt, 40 years of wandering in the desert,(I don't know how many years in Babylonian captivity) the mighty Roman army who nailed us to ten thousand crosses; despite the best efforts of the Christian crusaders, the Spanish Inquisition, Hitler's third Reich, Stalin's gulags, five Arab wars of annihilation, 100 years of Arab, Hezbollah,Islamic Jihad, Hamas, and Arafat terrorism; and 800 hate-filled UN resolutions!
How did we Jews do it? We did it by concentrating our efforts on education, love of family, faith, hard work, helping one another and a passionate dedication to life no matter what evil befell us!
We hung in there in hope the rest of the world would one day overcome its hatreds, jealousies, violence, and join us in a life of cooperation and mutual respect.
We're not there yet, but we're still hopeful. And when we entered our places of worship Wednesday, this is what we prayed for with all the strength in our hearts.
To all who come in peace I send Best wishes for a New Year filled with health, happiness, laughter, success, joy, and kindness.
