Weather It Is (On Ari Fuld)

Today the People of Israel – let alone our town – lost someone very special. Ari Fuld “a hero,” “larger than life,” and “a champion for Israel” (1).  Our defense minister promised an iron fist (2), but no iron fist can beat back the tide of EU NGO’s pushing for a boycott of Israel, as well the end of the Jewish renaissance.  No, that Iron Fist will have to come from those who are simply like Ari – making a tireless case for the State of Israel, its beauty and its people.

Yet, in the end words fail us – they can never capture what really was, and what were our hopes for the future.

Yet, perhaps we can take solace in our children – who may someday grow up to be like Ari.  My wife, Rachel, asked me to write down what she felt and what she experienced today at school when the bad news fell like a heavy tree upon us all.

It was the time for me that I had to return to my class of 7^th graders. I had to tell the kids what happened outside Rami Levy (of Gush Etzion) that morning.  I felt like I was choking – that I could not speak the words I needed to speak.  When I told them what happened, they each had their own reaction: some lowering their heads, while others grasping their ears and rocking back and forth – all  in anguish. 

I found myself in a class where most of the kids were crying.  The tears dripped onto their clothes, while others flowed onto the table.  Some tried to hide the tears, but they could not hide their anguish.

The only empty chair was the chair of Natan – a child whose smile (in better or even difficult times) fills the room.  The chair was not wet, and the chair didn’t rock, but the chair looked lonely and anguished.

I looked at their eyes – blue eyes tearing, brown eyes tearing, black eyes tearing, all shining, failing to reflect the sun streaming into the room.  Soon, I found myself looking at them through a veil of my own tears – tears of mine own anguish.

We read Tehillim (the Jewish book of Psalms) together. In Tehillim, we asked: “How long will the wicked exult (3)?”  I had no answer. I looked at their tears and had no answers.  But, then I began to think that if only we could collect all the tears and send them up to heaven, then perhaps, some day, “those who tearfully sow will reap in glad song (4)”.

(1) https://www.timesofisrael.com/terror-victim-ari-fuld-mourned-as-larger-than-life-hero-champion-for-israel/

(2) https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/after-deadly-stabbing-liberman-vows-to-fight-terror-with-iron-hand/

(3) https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/hamas-praises-deadly-west-bank-stabbing-attack/

(4)  Tehillim Ztzadec-Daled; 94.

(5) Tehillim Kuf-Bet-Vav, 126.

Weather It Is (Cool Weather, Then Hotter For Yom Kippur)

Good Evening:

While not everyone gave voice to their thoughts about the weather today, I can imagine that most enjoyed the perfect weather, regardless.  Temperatures were in the 20s (Celsius) in many areas, and there was a light wind to cool off those who spent too much time in the sun.

The cool weather will continue until Tuesday, when low pressure should develop to our southwest over the Sinai desert.  This low pressure area will bring warmer, if not hot, temperatures for the "holiday" of Yom Kippur. Unfortunately, humidities will be above 50%, making it feel hotter than usual. There will also be a small chance for some tropical showers.

Cooler, but not cool weather should winds its way our way for Shabbat and the start of the Sukkot holiday.

Speaking of the holiday, I believe that my past studies qualify me to offer a modified Challah recipe that's gone over well with the family. I am speaking about my courses in both inorganic and organic chemistry.  In my classes, I was very good at adding "NaCL" (salt) to various other chemicals like "NaHCO3" (baking soda), as well as mixing up C6H12O6  (one of the simple sugars in wheat) and C18H36O2 (Stearic Acid; one of the ingredients in Canola Oil).  The point is I have a "license" to modify recipes so I decided to do just that (as the kids were not so happy with recipe I used on-line here: https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/24419/bread-machine-challah-ii).  So, here is the modified recipe.

1) 1 Cup room temperature water
2) 1/2 Cup Sugar
3) 1 Tb Honey
4) 1/4 cup vegetable oil (like Canola)
5) 2 1/4 tsp salt
6) 2 eggs (room temperature is best)
7) 2 cups white flour; 1 cup whole wheat flour, and 1 cup Spelt flour
8) 1 Tb instant yeast
9) 1/4 cup gluten

If you're making this in a bread machine, then just add in the order listed (set on the dough setting!). If you want to do it yourself, add the yeast to the water/sugar mixture and let it sit for a few minutes before adding 1 cup of the flour and mixing well -- then continue from there).  It's also best to knead this twice, with a small break in between to let the dough rise a bit (1/2 of its size, perhaps). If you want to add 3/4 cup of raisins, add them before the second kneading.

Before cooking, mix 1 egg, 1 Tb water, and 1 Tb Honey, and brush over the Challah (or Challot).

One good thing to know: it's much easier to braid Challah if you lengthen the previously rounded dough and then cut it into 3 strips lengthwise as well.  In otherwords, don't cut across the dough, cut parallel to it (or yourself). For two Challahs, cut this in half (across) before cutting lengthwise (or 2/3 and 1/3 sizes depending on what you want).

For the holiday, you can roll each strip into a circle.  

Bake at 180 C for 32 minutes, turning the oven on when you set the timer.  Here's a picture of our Challah loaves.  You can see I made an extra roll in order to have two Challahs left over for Shabbat morning.  Enjoy and Happy Holidays.  Barry Lynn

Weather It Is (Hot)

Good Evening:

The weather is hot enough to turn on the air conditioning and to stay out of the sun.

After a relatively cool August,  the heat arrived as a heat low to our southeast built northwestward into our area.  The heat should last into late week before temperatures trend downwards into Shabbat (Saturday).

By that time a trough (or low pressure) in the middle atmosphere should move in from the northwest., and the low to our east should be replaced by a weak ridge of higher pressure. The winds between that low and the higher pressure will bring moisture into northern central and northern Israel, where there will be the possibility of tropical showers (and even some lightning). Fall may be off to an early start (and the rumor has it that the seasonal forecast models are predicting above normal rainfall amounts, a big difference from the years of predicting drought).

As the trough continues eastward and passes through our area the temperatures should cool from the low 30s into the upper 20s -- considerably cooler than today (Sunday).

That's good because I don't want to hear any complaints about the weather.

It wasn't a complaint, but an odd thing happened to my wife.  She was worried that her nighttime slumbers were being interrupted by a bit of snoring. I said I didn't think so, but she insisted on heading off to the doctor.  She told the doctor her worries, so he asked her if this were indeed true.  She told him that she was sleeping so that she couldn't verify the situation either way.  He thought this strange, and didn't really know how to proceed.  This made for a bit of a laugh but then she added that she was sure that the doctor found it even stranger that she hadn't come to "complain" that her husband was snoring and being -- generally -- a bother.

Afterwards, what struck me about her comment was an implied expectation that husbands or simply a bother to have around.

But, I must digress.

You may not believe this, but it's been verified through an unscientific poll.  What's the first place a wife takes her husband after the marriage and the excitement of the first weeks of marriage have passed?  She takes him to have his hearing checked.  Some men will say amongst themselves that they've lost their hearing because of their wives, but at the time of the appointment they're invariably told that their husband hears just fine.  The wife goes home muttering, and the husband goes home happy that his hearing is indeed fine.

Except it isn't.

The problem isn't hearing, the problem is listening. She goes home wondering how her husband is ever going to be useful if he doesn't hear her (instructions -- on how to be so).

You see, men marry because in their eyes they've found a beautiful "girl," or a smart girl, or a smart and beautiful girl, or a funny, smart, beautiful girl; regardless of the reason they've found the one.

Women marry, instead, because they have high hopes that their husband might be useful to have around.  True, there's a bit of starry eyed bliss, but deep down it comes down to what is called "Tachluss" (or purpose).

But what does she get: someone whose hearing is going and they've only been married a few months. Then she's faced with a dilemma: she has to weigh just how much her husband is useful versus how much he's a bother, and if he doesn't come out on the plus side there's going to be trouble.

Trouble usually comes, but if a husband is truly committed to honoring his wife (and marriage) he can follow some simple advice.   If you miss it the first time, try to get it right the second time, and don't justify why you got it wrong the first time. It won't help because wives live in the here and now, and don't want to hear (rational) excuses why husbands don't live up to expectations.  If you do this, you can move back to the plus side and your wife might actually tell her mother that she made the right choice.

Religious men sing to their wives every Friday evening: "An accomplished woman who can find? Far beyond pearls is her value."  A little listening on the part of a husband can go along way to deserving such a wife.

Shana Tova!

Barry Lynn

Weather It Is (Summer Continues)

Good Afternoon:

I'm sitting near the window watching a light blue sky -- there are no clouds floating by.

It's that kind of weather -- actually, everyone here says it's been a relatively cool summer. But, since we had a relatively warm winter, there were no cherries and one could sit a long time under the apple tree without fear of injury (unlike last year, which was great for apples and cherries).

In contrast, Dr. Jame Hansen (formally head of NASA GISS), claims that regional climate change is appearing above the "noise" of climate-variability (http://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/11/3/034009).  You can see just how warm it's been worldwide by checking out this link (http://www.columbia.edu/~mhs119/Temperature/Emails/July2018.pdf). Interestingly, the maps show our area as being 1 -- 2 Celcius above the "norm" (defined as the mean temperatures between 1951 -- 1980).

I write interestingly because the guys who know (e.g, those who put in air conditioning system) say it ain't so, and they are not the only ones. I believe that the Israel Meteorological Service keeps track of temperatures compared to normal means, but I'll have to leave this double-check for a later time.

In any case, there is not much change forecast for our weather during the next week to 10 days.  One can see that it is still anomalously warm over Europe (follow the links here to 500 mb height anomalies: https://www.tropicaltidbits.com/analysis/models/).  This affects us in an unusual way: storms are forced north of Europe, which then swing back down over Siberia. The resulting flow pattern sets up a high pressure area with westerly winds in the eastern Mediterranean or even pushes back a trough into our area -- keeping temperatures blowing refreshingly off the sea (rather then the desert to our east).

The mercury seems to be rising world-wide but the added energy from higher Carbon Dioxide gases has led to regional changes that include snowier east-coast winters (and now a humid and very rainy summer), but longer fire-seasons and extremely hot weather in the western US.  There is even a drought in Sweden, which is very unusual.  In England, a drought has withered the country side (but there is still plenty of water to drink: https://www.ft.com/content/a0dd8ba6-8044-11e8-8e67-1e1a0846c475). 

Some will claim that this is just "weather." They're right, but it may not be the weather they grew up with.

Barry Lynn

Weather It Is (Wow, That's Strange!)

Good Evening:

This morning I thought seriously about turning on my windshield wipers.  It just seemed the thing to do as drops of rain fell from a cloudy sky.  But, I resisted the temptation even as I marvelled at the fall like cloudy sky in the beginning of August.

Weak low pressure in the middle atmosphere should combine with strong westerly flow aloft to bring us a continued chance of very light showers into early Shabbat.  However, the winds should switch to the southwest and temperatures should warm to uncomfortable levels (mid 30s) as we progress from early to mid-next-week.

The unusually cool weather of today (Thursday) and yesterday are courtesy of an unusually cold vortex over western Siberia.  This is the type of set-up that can contribute to bringing us unusually cold, and even snowy weather during our winter months.  This vortex should elongate and move northward during next week's hot weather, but could return early the week after.

Our kids have pointed out that there are some things one expects in Israel (besides missiles from Gaza) and that's hot, summer weather. Hence, they were surprised (and a bit annoyed) to arrive back in Israel after a visit to see the grandparents and find that the weather here today is the same as the weather we left in the Dolomites of Italy, where the elevation is closer to our Har Hermon than Gush Etzion.

Of course, that's nothing to complain about compared to the spider that ate my wife the week before last.

These strange happenings started in the evening when my wife went upstairs for an early bed-time.   Relaxing and supine while looking at weather maps in the living room, I heard a scream.  I came running upstairs (taking the stairs two at a time) to find a rather large spider in the bathroom.  The spider was looking at my wife and my wife was looking at the spider, and then the spider was looking at the both of us.  What the spider didn't know was that he (or she) looked larger to my wife than to me (https://www.livescience.com/53765-arachnophobes-perceive-spiders-as-bigger.html), so it was left to me to grab a towel and show the spider the door.

However, no sooner had I mentioned that the spider likely had (has) a spider-mate, did I hear another scream from the bathroom, and the same process repeated itself.

After picking up and moving the furniture, cleaning the bedroom with a vacuum and a candle to light the way,  we went to bed, but not before I remarked that I hoped that these spiders were the parents and not the children, otherwise I might not wake up next to my wife, but a spider.

I thought this pretty witty, but the crack of dawn revealed much less than a laughing matter.  My wife was gone! It was no joke after all -- a spider ate my wife!

Okay, that's seems farfetched.  What really happened is that she dreamed that a spider ate me and she'd fled from the room for the safety of the lower floors. She wasn't eaten, she was just fled.

At least our room is clean for Passover.

Shabbat Shalom,

Barry Lynn

Weather It Is (Hotter and Cooler, Showers?)

Good Morning:

With all this talk about earthquakes, I suppose it only appropriate that the weather has been "acting" a bit unusual.  I'm not used to see fast moving clouds in summertime, or even to exclaim: "was that a drop of rain?"

Despite the recent cool weather, the mid-week period will turn quite hot, with Thursday being the hottest of the three, as high pressure builds eastward from Africa.  What we seem to be missing this summer is a very strong heat low over the desert to our east. Instead there is a anomalous area of cold air over west-central Russia (or north of Kazakstan).  This will help to create an atmospheric flow pattern that will allow for unusually cool summer air to drop down over the eastern Mediterranean at middle and lower levels of the atmosphere as we head into the Ninth of Av (fast).  The models are actually shown showers over northern and central areas as Shabbat moves into Sunday's fast.

Those who work in the field of atmospheric sciences are much more fortunate than those who study plate tectonics, and dream of some day predicting earthquakes.  Earthquakes are very hard to predict, even when they are happening! (See: https://www.popsci.com/earthquake-harder-to-predict-than-we-thought).  They are also very difficult to predict before they happen because the data required to do so is not complete and hard to get (earthquakes can start 30 km beneath the surface! See: http://theconversation.com/why-it-is-so-hard-to-predict-where-and-when-earthquakes-will-strike-40873).  There are other issues to contend with.  For instance, the equations that describe the ebb and flow of the atmosphere are well-known (although errors in initial data do lead to errors in the forecasts, as well as for other reasons).  Earthquakes can happen when one plate moves below another or to the side.  The action occurs suddenly, which is equivalent to a "Step-Function" in mathematics that is simple to write, but hard to formulate  (like when a bridge or dam suddenly collapses due to a build up of pressure or weakening of the supports).

Others have more obvious predictors.  Shall we blame the strange weather on the plan to possibly build a mixed prayer pavilion at the Western (Kotel) Wall? Or, shall we only blame the recent bout of earthquakes (see:https://www.timesofisrael.com/ultra-orthodox-mk-suggests-earthquake-was-due-to-western-wall-mixed-prayer-area/) on such plans?

Perhaps there is a more obvious reason.  My "Me Am Lo Ez" Torah Anthology (Exodus-II Redemption; translated by Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan) notes that one of the reasons the Jewish people were redeemed from Egypt was because they didn't speak LaShon Hara (gossip or say bad things about others).  But, here we have the Knesset lawmaker blaming the Reform movement for Earthquakes.  Then we had a "Kashrut" authority revoke Barkan Wines certificate for employing Ethiopians.  The Eda Haredit claims that there is not enough proof that Ethiopians who immigrated to Israel are actually Jewish (so they are not allowed to touch the wine while it is being prepared).

Widespread questioning of someone else's Jewishness or the Jewishness of Converts is strictly forbidden in the Book of Jewish Law (the Torah).  Yet, here we have a group claiming to be a "congregation of God-fearing" people engaging in actions anathema to proper Jewish Observance.

In my opinion, the best way to demonstrate your goodness as a person is to be kind to others.  Striving for that extra strictness based on the most extreme measure of Jewish law is actually based on selfishness (hoping for extra "brownie-points"), and not charitableness (among which giving money to those is needs is also an important responsibility).

Barry Lynn

Weather It Is (Hmm Weather)

Good Afternoon:

It's the kind of summer weather that makes you want to say "hmm."  It's not super hot, but it's not exactly pleasant either.  In fact, the northwest flow has brought some broken clouds in off the sea.

The hot, sultry weather is courteous of strong high pressure over Africa combining with low pressure over Syria.  Both systems are fairly stationary, and the results is the northwest flow.  But because the air originates in both Africa and the desert areas to our northeast, we just end up hot and a bit on the humid side.

Without much to look at in the sky, I have taken to noticing what's going around me at eye-level.  The other day there was a long line of cars passing through the open lane of the check-point on the way to Gush Etzion.  I was in that line when I noticed a person speed down the adjacent lane, headed towards the unopen gate at the check-point.  I wondered what this person thinks about before making his move. Considering that this person could not have seen whether the lane was open before he took the plunge, he really made a bold move.   For instance, if the rest of us are dumb, he'd sail right through past everyone else.  But, if the lane is closed, he'd have to go back to the end of the line -- right?  No,  he just cuts in and goes ahead of everyone else.

What about the person that goes around the speed bump, crossing the yellow line, just so he (or she) doesn't have to slow down.  Does that person think: "I bet I can outsmart that speed bump," or is it: "they're not going to make me slow down, even if I have to break the law."

In The Times of Israel, there is an article entitled: "Will the West Cede the Golan to a Psychopath?" (https://www.timesofisrael.com/will-the-west-cede-the-golan-heights-to-a-psychopath/) The authors mean: to Bashar Assad. When the editor wrote the headline did they try to convey how illogical that would be or did they purposely try to convey that Israel does not own the Golan?  After all, if the Golan is part of Israel then how can other nations turn it over to Mr. Assad?

The Israeli Knesset passed a law deducting Palestinian payments to murderers in Israeli jails from tax obligations (https://www.timesofisrael.com/knesset-passes-law-freezing-pa-funding-over-terror-payouts/).  Supposedly, the law sends a message to the Palestinian that terror doesn't pay. The Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas instead called prisoners in Israel jails "Political Prisoners" -- not terrorists -- and "victims of the 'Occupation.'" Ironically, he went on to say that the same prisoners are not the "creators of the occupation."  It's a great line, but does he really believe it?  Until the war in 2000, Israel had vacated Area A (under the Oslo Accords), and offered most of the area  west of the Jordan River and east of the old "Green Line" (Armistice Line)  (and Gaza) to the Palestinians for their own state, including parts of Jerusalem.  So, who is the creator of the "Occupation?" It's the Palestinians -- no Israel will in his or her right mind cede land to a people that pays its citizens to murder others.


Barry Lynn