Even though….Peace

I love the peacefulness of Shabbat.  I love the special feelings and the smells of it.

Yesterday, 3 young men were abducted in Shormon (Samaria) by a terrorist group from Hebron area; identity of the group is still unknown.  Yet, at our congregational meeting for Erev- Shabbat, one heard Hebrew, Arabic, Lebanese, Russian, Hungarian, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and English...  With visitors from every corner of earth and from a few villages here in the North, the hall was packed, while the Air-Condition was on full blast.

Peace - A joy to behold.

At the translators' booth I was privileged to sit by an 18 years old man from one of our Northern Villages.  He is an Arab Israeli and we've met him 3 or more years ago.  His prayer request was to be a Navy Cadet.  We prayed for him a few times to that end…he made it.  His last year in the navy school in Acco will be completed in two months and he will enter the Israeli Navy.  He plans to study medicine while he serves and to stay in the service "forever" as a physician.  

What a great honor to know this young man.  His path requires a special inner strength to follow.  An Arab, with a Caustic Cross around his neck, is not easily accepted by his peers in the Navy Cadet School.  There are a few Arab Israelis among them.  In his village, his choice to enter the IDF is frown on as well.  Others his age throw stones at him and hurl curses as he walks home proudly wearing his Israeli Navy uniform.  But he believes in his choice and is determined to reach his destination.  A quiet, unassuming, man- not-quite-a-man-yet, God please bless him and protect him from his enemies and friends alike.

165 Day of Thankfulness -

Praise You Father, the creator of the Shabbat for showing us a way toward true peace.

Please remind G-- his heritage as a servant of the Lord, "no weapon that is formed against him shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against him in judgment he shall condemn". 

Thank You God for the privilege to see Your plan unfolds in the lives of the people around us.

Resting this Day,

Orith