HaYovel Newsletter

I am posting this newsletter on my blog trusting that many will read and meditate on this historic event that should never have happened, but IT DID! We need to never forget history or it will be repeated!

Dear Harold, After a wonderful time of fellowship during Family Week Kentucky we are finally settling in for a few days here in Tennessee and have already begun preparing for our next adventure. As sweet as the time was we are reminded this weekend of a time not so sweet. Bloody Wednesday Several days before what would be known as "Bloody Wednesday" a work crew of military soldiers, POW's, and Jews at the concentration camp in Poland began digging three six foot deep ditches that measured 100 yards each. "Bloody Wednesday" began at 6 or 7 o'clock on a low hill in full view of the local residents with the loud unusual sound of dance music. The Jews, who had worked the day before to dig the ditches, were ordered to march into the ditches 10 at a time and lay face down. The music was used to cover up the machine gun fire that began and ended the massacre. By 5 pm on Wednesday, November 3rd, 1943 over 16,000 Jews were dead. 800,000 shoes found at Majdanek Another 14,000 Jews were executed at Poniatowa on the same day ....in the same way. What was their crime? How was this act justified? They were Jews. That's it ....They were Jews. If you're like most Christians you've never heard of Majdanek or Poniatowa. Sad, isn't it? Saturday evening at sundown will mark the beginning of Yom Ha'Shoah - Holocaust Remembrance Day. It will last until Sunday evening at sundown. Please don't go to a local church service expecting to see or attend a special memorial service - you won't find it. Why? Maybe because the music is still covering up the reality of it all. It was then and still now difficult for us as Christians to admit to or hear that our religion .....our forefathers were to blame for this barbaric extermination of the innocent. For me the music wasn't muted until I made my first visit to Yad Vashem - the Holocaust Memorial in Jerusalem. For the first time I understood how my religion played a part in the murder of 6 million people. I grew up in a rural Southern Baptist Church and was once proud of my protestant heritage. Not once did I hear any cruel or unpleasant discussions concerning the Jewish people - the fact is, in small town Tennessee - I never heard anything about the Jewish people. Maybe I wasn't paying attention ......or maybe the music was just too loud. I grew up believing that Martin Luther was a great man with great courage in bringing reformation to my faith. To read his simple minded foolish quotes from the book "The Jews and Their Lies" made me embarrassed. I was more than embarrassed - I was angry. You see ...every Jew who lives in Israel ...at least those who attend high school or serve in the IDF must visit Yad Vashem ...with a guide. A guide that makes sure every Jew hears the story - every Jew knows the truth. You see ....every Jew knows the things we were not told. Every Jew knows that without the teaching of - the hatred of Luther the Holocaust would not - could not have occurred. Some of us, knowing the truth, have become so embarrassed that we've stopped calling ourselves Christians. We still believe that Jesus/Yeshua is the Messiah, but we just can't deal with the hypocrisy of the past ....especially where it involves the Jewish people. Does it matter what we call ourselves? What matters is that we stop making the music louder - stop keeping our head in the sand. Is there a way to undo the sins of our fathers? Maybe - probably not. And if we can never undo what's been done, we still must do something. This Sunday every Jewish community across the world will observe Yom Ha'Shoah. What if you - all of us - went online and found out what time the event is taking place in your city and take your family? As for my family we will be attending an event held at the Gordon Jewish Community Center here in Nashville on Sunday, May 1st at 11 o'clock am. Go to BridgesToZion.org for more info. I want to leave you with an article written by my friend Moshe Kempinski from Jerusalem. A Whisper of Glory in Maidanek On a trip to Poland with Rabbi Mordechai Elon several years ago, my son and his classmates produced a movie describing their trek into the abandoned valleys of death. Their voyage was focused on the death and the destruction, but it also attempted to relive the lives, dreams and culture of a thousand years of Jewish communal life in Poland. There are several minutes in that film that will be forever etched in my mind, and on this Holocaust Remembrance Day I feel a need to recount those minutes again. I watched the video and saw their arrival in the Maidanek concentration camp. They entered the gas chambers and huddled together because of the cold temperatures, mainly because of that inescapable chill that was clutching at their souls. They stood listening to one of the Holocaust survivors that had volunteered to come with them on their trip from Israel. At one point in the description, the guide asked them to look up at the ceiling. The concrete was streaked with swatches of a bluish tinge. The guide explained that the bluish streaks were the remnant of the poisonous Zyklon-B gas that snuffed out the lives of so many men, women and children. He continued to describe how every year, a group of Polish Christians would come and try to whitewash the ceiling. Yet, their efforts proved to be fruitless, as the blue-singed testimony would always return. The blue color was all that remained of those horrific moments and it would not be covered. I thought of those horrifying moments and the terror and the cries. I thought about the prayers in that darkened cell. I suddenly realized that the bluish tinge was not what was left over from the Zyklon gas. It was what remained of the victims' prayers. The prayer that filled that horrific chamber was the Sh'ma prayer: " Hear O Israel, HaShem our G-d, HaShem is one." It is this same prayer that had risen and rent the heavens so many other times in the history of this people. It was a prayer uttered in the torture chambers of the Inquisition, during the pogroms of the Crusades and in the massacre of the Jewish community in Hebron. It was the last words of a father and little son as they lay dying on the floor of the Sbarro's restaurant after a Palestinian terrorist attack. It is a prayer that declares for all eternity that faith cannot be bludgeoned, burned or gassed into oblivion. Faith lasts forever. The last paragraph of the Sh'ma ( Numbers 15) describes the string of t'chelet (blue) that was added to the fringes of the tallit - "put with the fringe of each corner a thread of t'chelet." (Numbers 15:38) This color would be reminiscent of another blue color, the color of the divine Throne of Glory, "And above the firmament that was over their heads was the likeness of a throne, as the appearance of a blue sapphire stone." (Ezekiel 1:26) The last prayer in that horrible concrete room was the Sh'ma and it was the Sh'ma that left that bluish tinge, not the gas. The victims' collective prayer left an imprint of t'chelet on the ceiling as their prayers rose unto the Throne of Glory. That is where their prayers, and their souls, reside together with six million others, never to be forgotten. The bluish tinge in Maidanek is but a whisper of Glory. Yet, it is also a constant reminder of divine promises that will yet be fulfilled. If you would like to be added to Moshe's email list or order merchandise from his shop in the Old City please contact him at shop@shorashim.com. Blessings, Tommy Waller

I took these three weeks ago of the green house and outside planting beds, then before I could down load them to the computer the camera went on a road trip. The camera, along with Hannah and Megan, visited Prescott, Jerome, Sedona and Flagstaff before returning home.

The only reason that I was able to down load this week end is because the camera's LCD died and so it missed out on a trip to Reno.

Back to the pictures, to the left is lettuce inside the green house, it is just about ready to eat now and has also provided plants for the Hydro garden.

Below on the left is more lettuce getting close to eating size. On the right is one of the outside planting boxes. In the corners I planted cucumber and Italian squash. In the major open area I planted green beans. We will have to wait and see if anything comes up. There are also some tomatoes and peppers in the center.

Above left is an out side bed with tomatoes and bell peppers. On the right you can see that I have expanded the hydro garden to 12 pots. These plants are about 2 inches in the picture, currently closer to 6 inches and very full. Everything grows so much faster in the hydro. The one tomato plant in the blue hydro has already put on a set of blossoms and grown at least 4 inches.

The next step will be to add another 12 pots to the hydro and get spinach growing again. The end goal is to have enough lettuce and spinach to not have to buy at the store.

If I was smart enough to know how to maneuver the pictures I would put them in a better lay out. For right now I am at the mercy of the program and my lack of knowledge.

Our Green House

About two and a half months ago we used the lumber from our Sukkah to build a small green house (4 x 8). The lattice helps to protect the plastic from the wind.

Eight weeks ago I set up a hydroponic system along with two growing beds. The idea was to grow some cucumber and spinach in the hydroponic system and lettuce in the growing beds. By planting some seeds every week in the beds I hoped to have a continuous crop of lettuce.

Since I eat two huge salads a day I consume about eight bunches of red and green leaf and romaine lettuce a week. Also lots of tomatoes, cucumbers, red bell peppers and Italian squash .
Growing some of everything would help the grocery budget and at the same time have fresher and better quality veggies.

What I have ended up with are no cucumbers, they did not even sprout; six spinach plants in four cups, I planted six seed to a cup; and two lettuce plants that I moved to the hydroponic system last week. The lettuce has tripled is size in just a week in the growing system. I harvested a small baggie of spinach today. I am hoping to start harvesting lettuce in two weeks.

The growing beds are not growing as fast, that may be due to the cold weather. The first lettuce I planted was very close to the door and six feet from the heater. It is only about 1/2 inch after eight weeks. the next planting which is closer to the heat is about two inches and I am thinning it out and planting in another area so it can grow larger.

The left end of the bed is the first planting and the right end is the second, a week later. There are suppose to be three rows, but the back row by the plastic just has not sprouted well or grown.

The bed below was planted three weeks ago. It is amazing how the temperature effects how fast they grow.

As the days get warmer the results should be better. I am glad that I had the heat cube in there this week with all the extra cold for Arizona weather. One morning the thermometer said 40 at about three feet off the floor. The water bucket has a thin layer of ice in it.

Thursday update

Healing is slow and full of pain. Helen is starting to be more alert at times. Unfortunately those are the times when we need to be rolling her around to make changes. It is quite painful for us to roll her around.

We are needing to watch her skin really close. there are some spots that are very red, not good signs. It is good that the bathing aid is here three times a week and keeps a very close eye on all areas. Breezy is excellent and very thorough.

We will have a patient lift delivered Friday and a reclining wheelchair. Next week we will start trying to get her into the TV room with David for a while each day. She needs a change of scenery. That will be a new experience for Carla, learning to use the patient lift. I will let her practice on me first.

I would say she is doing quite good for being only about two weeks since the break and only eleven days since surgery.

Helen is Home

She is resting comfortably in her own bed tonight with a cat for company. The healing process will take quite a while, but the home environment with family around will be much more comforting.

Home health should be back in on Monday, Wednesday and Friday to bath and the nurse should be back some time during the week to do the normal weekly check ups. We will need physical therapy to set up a schedule and exercise plan.

It is good to have the convenience of being able to walk into her room to check on her anytime instead to a trip to the third floor of KRMC. They serve there purpose, but home is always better.

Alert and ready to roll

Helen was very much with what was going on tonight. She is confused at times, but about the same as before last Friday. Her vitals have stabilized and she is eating with assistance. She may discharge as early as Saturday or Sunday.

We will need a patient lift to move her from point A to point B. She is not to be more than 20% weight bearing on the right leg. The home environment with her cats and family close at hand should help the progress.

We will need a transport to bring Helen to the house as it is just to hard to load her into the car and get her back out. The nurses are quite surprised that we want to bring her home instead of transferring her to a skilled nursing facility. There will be more challenges for a while, but home is always better.

Helen Update

Tuesday evening we found Helen had been moved from ICU back to a regular room. Her blood level is maintaining and her other vitals are stable. At this time it appears that she is progressing as expected for her age.

Carla is planning on going to visit during the day. This hopefully will allow more time to talk with the nurse. In the evening we always catch the changing of staff. The day nurse is leaving and the night nurse is trying to catch up wit the activity herself.

We have no idea at this time when she will be discharged.

correction of update from AM

Boy did i get all the information wrong in the morning post. The Cat scan is still on hold. The PIC line is still on hold. The respiratory has stabilized and there was no need for a ventilator. It seems that ever procedure that permission was requested for has not been needed or is still on hold.

After a total of four units of blood Helen's blood levels are where they want to see them. Her blood pressure, pulse, and O2 level (on 4 ltr of O2) were all good tonight. She is very weak and her voice is extremely soft. It will be a long road.

On the positive side Dr. Allen is very pleased with the way the incision site is healing.

Sorry about all the bogus information this morning.

Helen Update

Helen was moved to ICU at 3:30 AM. They have given her one unit of blood and plan on a second. They will be installing a PIC line this AM to better facilitate all the blood activity as her veins are very fragile.

She will not stabilize on her breathing, Oxygen saturation, heart rate and blood pressure so they have put her an a ventilator to gain some stability.

She was awake and very alert during the early morning hours and talked with the nurse. She thanked them for all they were doing and was very appreciative of all her care.

Helen Update

Helen went to OR around 2 PM. We are not sure when they did surgery, but Dr. Allen called at 6:25 PM to let us know that she had come through real good. She will be back in her room around 7:00 PM.

I will update as we know more about how she is doing.

Update on Grandma

While transferring to her bed last night (Friday) Helen was unable to bear weight on her right leg. About the same time she had a great deal of pain and Carla heard a snap (similar to a tree branch breaking). since it was impossible to complete the transfer she was lowered to the floor.

Because of the pain we called 911 and she was transported to the Hospital ER. Helen was admitte around 10:30 PM Friday night with a broken Femur in the right leg. The waiting game started as we waited for the Orth surgen to evaluate the situation, the Internal Doctor to clear her for surgery and the Cardiologist to say the heart was strong enough for the surgery.

About 10:30 AM today (Saturday) Dr. Allen the Orthopedic Surgeon called and talked with Carla about the possibilities, and said he would do the surgury if she was cleared by the other Doctors. We went to visit this afternoon and Dr. Igball came in to examine her and he expressed that if the Cardiologist said OK that he was in agreement. They told us that Dr. Bokhari was in the building and that he would be in her room in 15 minutes, we laughed as he is always very late. To our surprise he was looking at her chart in 10 minutes and in the room before the end of 15 minutes. He gave the final OK and it appeared that surgery would be later today.

About 5:00 I received another call form the Hospital and because of a scheduling conflict the surgery was re-scheduled for Sunday. No time has been set for the procedure at this time. We are hoping for an AM time.

Currently she is comfortable in room 359 with good pain management medications.

Sunday evening and Monday we will keep Yom Kippur. Monday after Sun down construction will start on the Sukkah for the festival of Sukkot. Will post picture during the building and finished project.

Salad Anyone

Had someone told me a year ago that I would rather eat a salad or bowl of fresh fruit that prime rib and baked potato I would have said you are nuts. I am not quite there yet, but cooked food has less appeal all the time.

I am enjoying more energy and at the same time requiring less sleep as I continue to increase my raw food intake. Breakfast is normally a large bowl with one cup of organic flax seed cereal and the rest fresh fruit. Lunch is a very large salad with a variety of lettuces, bell peppers, broccoli , cucumbers, tomatoes and any other vegetable that is in the house. Some times I will add some cooked food at lunch, but the cooked is having less appeal everyday. The evening meal is another large salad or veggie plate, plus some of what the family is having. (small portion)

The most amazing change is my lack of desire for potato chips. I tried some the other day and they did not even taste good. There is no desire to even try any more. Going from a two bag a week consumption to having no desire to eat even one is very hard to comprehend.

Diet Coke is another item missing from my diet. Prior to February I drank a 16 oz Diet Coke almost daily. Without the extra boast I could not keep from falling asleep at my desk. Now I rarely need a Coke, maybe one every two or three weeks. Even then I will only drink half or less of the bottle. Water is always the best and fills all my liquid needs.

The more I read and research the more I am convinced that I really do not need to eat cooked food. Everything I read stresses fresh organic has the most nutrients and is the easiest for the body to digest, that presents a real challenge in Kingman. I would prefer to eat all organic, but most of the time I am force by lack of availability to eat less than 10% organic. I trust that more will become available as time goes on.

The Holy One Loves US

The following are quotes from the "Rabbi's son" Torah teachings on the Parsha Acharei Mot Leviticus 16:1 - 18:30. I trust you will be blessed by the teachers words of widsom.

The Holy One knows us intimately and loves us passionately One-on-one, of course. He pursues us gently and woos us lovingly and redeems us powerfully as individuals.

He took special care to create each and every one of us to be unique and special and to relate to Him in a way no other human being could ever do.

Each of us is therefore truly His "favorite" in some way.

Each of us is designed to be a "private garden" for Him, uniquely qualified to enjoy a rich full, intimate one-on-one relationship with Him at a level no one else can experience.

As amazing as that is, however, we are discovering that His love for us as individuals is by no means the end of the story.

Behold -- there is an even greater mystery.

He also sees us all as something more than individuals. He also sees us as part of a potentially great - indeed world changing -- collective entity.

Thus while He knows, watches over, protects, blesses, and trains as a son [or daughter] each and every one of us individually, He also sees all who are in covenant with Him - be we natural or en-grafted branches -- as part of a very special am [i.e., people-group], mamleket [i.e., kingdom] and goy [i.e., a nation].

He sees us collectively as the mysterious "offspring" of Avraham to which He mysteriously alluded in Genesis 12:7."

"and you must not live like they do in the land of Kena'an, where I am bringing you. Do not follow their practices [either]." Leviticus 18:3b




The Holy One thus makes it clear He does not want His Beloved Bride to conform to the baseness of any society on earth.

We are to be noticeably different from all other people-groups in the world.

We are from another kingdom altogether.

We are not to think, speak, dress, or spend time or money or energy like the Egyptians or the Kena'ani - or any other culture we encounter.

Torah is to be our passion, our lifestyle, our Constitution, our entertainment, our recreation, and our reason to live. It is to define what we think about, what we talk about, what we eat, what we wear, what we drink, how we educate our children, how we make a living, how we develop our self-esteem, how we interact with our families, when and why we get together with person outside our families, and even where we live.

We are, therefore, not to imitate - act and talk like - the people we see on television, in movies, or in music videos, in fashion shows.

We are not to be "wanna-bees" of any other culture."

Anyone for vegatables, fruits and nuts

My world of eating has seen a lot of changes since early February. My psoriasis had gotten so bad that both my chest and back were over 80% covered along with my legs, knees and elbows. If you have not experienced psoriasis it itches and your skin is dry a scaly, quite miserable. I started looking on the internet for a natural way to rid myself of the pest; I already knew that I did not want to take the medication that would temporarily clear it up. I had taken it four years ago and the side effects of the first dose was enough for me.

I found an e-book "Psoriasis: Spot Free in 30 Days" that outlined the food triggers that caused the onset for a lot of people. There also were some suggested eating plans for a 30 day clearing of the pest. All my favorite foods had to be temporarily removed from the food list. No white potatoes, no wheat products, no red meat, no night shade vegetables, no coke or sodas and the list went on. What I could eat was vegetables, fruit, lamb, fish, sweet potatoes and a few other things I like. After 30 dyas I still had some of the psoriasis, but it was definitely clearing. I was only itching a little and I knew that I was headed in the right direction. I was feeling excellent and not getting tired in the mid afternoons. My taste buds were changing and potato chips (my former favorite food) no longer tasted good. Progress was being made.

Because of the side effects that I had been reading about connected with the medication I have been taking for over four years for diabetes, I started looking for nutritional supplements that would duplicate the results without the dangerous side effects. I found one that looked OK and purchased a bottle. For the first few days I stayed on the meds along with the supplement. Gradually leaving the meds behind, I went totally with the supplement on the 6th of March. I have since changed to another supplement that has a better mix of nutrients and herbs that is working very well. My readings are as good as with the medication and I do not have to make sure I eat enough to keep my glucose level high enough at certain times of the day.

Mid March brought to us more knowledge that went right along with the direction we were going. We had the opportunity of having Paul Nison speak here in Kingman about Biblical eating and a raw daylight eating lifestyle. We purchased one of his books and a DVD entitled "Simply Raw Reversing Diabetes in 30 days". The DVD was quite challenging. On the heels of eating a diet of at least 80% vegetables, fruits and nuts, mostly raw already to clear the Psoriasis, it seemed like a workable idea. Working toward a totally raw diet of vegetables, fruits and nuts is a process that will take years. I feel that is the direction that Carla and I are headed very gradually.

Currently I am eating probably 60% raw vegetables, fruit and nuts. The other 40% is eggs, fish, a little red meat or lamb, cooked vegetables, a little bit of bread (now that we have finished the week of unleavened bread) , and few white potatoes. The goal is to gradually move toward 100% raw, but that may take several years.

On the 8th I went to Prescott for my appointment with Dr. Fiscus, my Holistic Doctor. This is the doctor that about four yers ago said he had never seen anyone sicker than I was. His report is that I am fungus free still and making tremendous progress. He was pleased to hear that I had stopped the diabetic medicatioan and gone completely with nutritiona supplements. He looked over the mixture of the suppliment that I added and felt that they would not cause a problem with the other suppliments I am taking. He was satisfied that my glocuse readings were OK for this point in time. I will go back to Prescott again in six weeks for the Doctor to evaluate the changes and adjust my supplements again.

My taste buds are definitely enjoying the raw foods and I am feeling more alert during my waking hours.

If you are interested in the raw food lifestyle here are some links.

www.rawfor30days.com
www.paulnison.com
www.rawlife.com
www.raw-food-health.net
www.rdnmovement.com

If you do a Google search for raw food there is an abundance of information available.

Service With A Smile...

So, as some of you may know, I recently got hired at McDonalds. Then, through a series of peculiar events, I got hired at Safeway (the old one) and quit McDonalds before I even began. So far, I am very happy with this happening. I have only worked at Safeway for two days now, but I have already learned a few things.

1. Nearly every customer has either a bag of potatoes or tomatoes.

2. Only the nicest customers accept help with their bags

3. The orange cart vest really does get you noticed

I also learned that a smile really does help things. People respond a lot to a smiling face! Oh, and keeping carts out of the parking lot is a loooong battle. Never won. Occasionly held off for a few moments. Literally. You look out at the parking lot, proudly, because every cart is where it is supposed to be, then, you blink a few times and BAM! There all out of place!

Oh, and puppies outside? Not a good time. People who give puppies away outside? Super in the way! Honestly. But oh well, at least the puppies were cute :)

So all in all, I like my job! I like categorizing things in my brain and trying to bag everything before the order is paid for. And I like saying "Hi, how are you!" to every single customer. I especially like it when people accept carryout service! Then, I get to hear their entire life story, and normally, it is pretty interesting!

Oh - just to let you know - electric carts are SLOOOWWW! Try riding one of those back up to where it belongs! You feel like you will never reach your destination. And going over speed bumps on those bad boys is pretty interesting.

So, two days in, and I still enjoy it, hopefully it stays that way!

Good Times in Springerville!

This weekend, Hannah and I went of to the grand land of Springerville, Arizona! Why would we be going to such a small and far away place? ACADEC of course! We had our Round Valley scrimmage and it was a really good indicator as to where we are at with our studies. Hannah, being the hardworking, overachieving genius that she is did fantastic! Here, let me just make you a little list of her achievements.

-1st Place Art
-1st Place Economics
-1st Place Superquiz

-2nd Place Speech

-3rdPlace Language and Literature
-3rd Place Math
~~First Place Overall Honors~~

I, being not quite the amazing person Hannah is, was still able to collect a few awards. I got second place in interview and essay, which was pretty exciting for me because I've never won any awards at these wonderful little competitions.

Our team got third place in Superquiz relay and first place overall. It was a very successful trip, and I think the whole group of 17 had a good time!

The whole team with our first place plaque :)

The nine of us with our 3rd place Superquiz plaque!Anyone who won any awardsThe usual outside on the steps picture afterwards
Overall winners

Biblical Landscape Reserve in Israel

Picnic area in the Reserve where we finally had lunch after many hours of walking and exploring. The people in the picture are our tour group,

The pictures in this post are from "The Biblical Landscape Reserve" We spent the whole day Sunday with a guide touring the over 600 acres. The objective of this project is restoration to Biblical times from Scriptural description of the areas. They are restoring to how they were during the different time periods.

Since it was the time of Sukkot that had a large display of a variety of Sukkas. Some met the Biblical definition of a proper Sukka and others did not. There were signs to explain the problem with the incorrect structures. According to Jewish tradition they need to be a certain size or larger at least three sided have to be freestanding, they must be a portable structure and many other requirements.

An actual cistern for water storage. The area was laid out so that all the rain fall would run into the water storage area. This is an actual cistern from the time of Abraham. There are many references to cisterns in the early Scriptures. There are many cisterns in the hills of Israel that are continually being discovered. Some will still hold water.

If you would like to know more about the Neot Kedumin (Biblical Landscape Reserve in Israel) check out their web site http://www.n-k.org.il/public/english/index.htm and click on virtual tour. Also go to their newsletter for more pictures and information. It was a very fascinating day with so much information about the land and the scriptures describing the areas we were looking at.

More of Sukkah

There are more pictures in earlier post in October. There are three post for today. And i will get a little more posted later today or tomorrow.

We had two Sukkah's, the larger on the main floor balcony was used for the evening meal. Here it is set up for another excellent meal.
The view was breath taking no matter where we looked.





It is almost dinner time and the tables are all setup in the Sukkah.



Carla and one of the other guest decorating the small sukkah on the lower level.
A birds-eye-view of the lower level sukkah. The ladies had a lot of fun cutting out decorations and attaching them to the walls of the enclosure.