OK – I had loads of requests to post some Hanukah recipes (well actually just one (and that was more of an ultimatum) from SHE WHO MUST BE OBEYED INSTANTLY (Tsvia, my wife of 47 years).

Hanukkah commemorates the rededication of the Temple in Jerusalem after it was desecrated by the Greeks in 164 BCE (Before the common era). This makes this eight-day long celebration a relative newcomer to the Jewish calendar but one that become firmly entrenched in Jewish consciousness. Because traditionally candles are lit every night of the celebration (more about that later) it is also known as the Festival of Lights.

The Day of Atonement is perhaps the single most import day in the Jewish year. It is a time for prayer, for reflection and what we call in Hebrew, Heshbon nefesh (Soul searching) when we reflect on our past actions, pay pennance for our wrongdoings and to those we have hurt and resolve to be be a better person in the coming year. This post is a personal reflection (a somewhat long one but…) not of the past year but of a longer period of time.

P3 Israel’s purpose is to partner with organizations and communities in Israel and the United States, helping them to work together, to share knowledge and experiences so that they will be able to provide even more solutions to those they serve.

The past few months have been a challenging time for everybody. Places of work shut down, enforced isolation, social distancing and the ever-present fear of contagion and illness.

We are praying for you, our friends, and supporters. We are praying for the United States, for the heroes in the medical services, firefighters, and paramedics, those forced to remain in isolation, those without jobs. We know that you will see through these troubled times. We know that the strength and resilience of the American people will come to the forefront and that you will recover and will come back from this crisis.

Israel is on the road back to normality. But there is still a long way to go.

Remembrance Day is one that is emotionally charged and of great importance to all Israelis. We share here, with you, Bet HaEmek's remembrance ceremony for its fallen soldiers.

Tuesday evening, 28th of April, 2020, Israel will begin celebrating its 72nd Independence Day.

But the day before, from Sunset on the 27th of April to sunset on the 28th, it will be different Israel – an Israel in mourning for the almost 24,000 men, women and children who lost their lives in Israel’s wars for survival or in a vicious terror attack.