a balloontwister’s aliya saga

Whew… A very… very busy weekend.. here in Baltimore.

Also a very wet weekend here in B’more.

I noticed something very interesting. What takes only a few minutes when driving takes LONGER when walking. Also, when its raining… you tend to get wetter when walking than when driving.

Walking to Shul in my bright yellow CVS pancho did not help that much… despite paying 99 cents for it. My hat did stay 100% dry though. (I left it in Israel, I took my father in laws hat). Just awful weather.. wind… driving rain. My suit pants were still a bit damp in the morning and there was some mud on them as well. Good thing polyester doesnt get ruined easy.

Yesterday I spent a few hours kayaking in harpers ferry, WV. class 1 through 3 rapids… not a huge deal for a raft or a duckie kayak. Unfortunately I did not take either. I took a kayak that was less stable but was more manuverable. Mistake. I had images of the trainquil waters on the delaware when I made that decision. Apparently the shenendoah is NOT the delaware. I was the only one to take the less stable torrent kayak. I used to look forward to the rapids… Not so much anymore. After getting bounced around and thrown off the kayak… I think next time I’ll take the duckie kayak. Turns out due to the rain over shabbos, the level was higher, water was faster and the rapids were just a bit nastier. Just a few cuts and scratches… and one less t shirt. My shirt that I used to sit on… is somewhere in the shenendoah. Lost that after my second drink in the river.

After I went to the Harpers ferry National park where John Brown led his group to start a rebellion of slaves. It was nice to hear and see a piece of history. I recall doing a report on him so it was a nice way to spend an afternoon. The tour guide spoke on how history is divided on how to view brown. MAdman or someone committed to freeing slaves. I was thinking after reading a report this morning on how Israel has approved 700 apartment units in the west bank and beitar how this is also viewed differently by people. Are they pioneers in helping settle the land or are they nuts because they will be living closer to arabs and closer to potential danger. When I saw pictures of brown with is long flowing beard. I thought of my uncle moshe Levinger. Many people, including some that are related to me, think of him and my aunt, Miriam, his wife, to be totally insane. Why would you risk your lives and your family to live in Chevron? Others think of him as a crusader or pioneer.

I hope in light of the Gaza fiasco and the past war we can pull together and have all jews view the west bank people and the chevron settlers in a positive light. Our enemies will not be satisfied with the west bank or chevron or the golan. They want it all. Hopefully all of israel can see this and view the settlers in a favorable light. Even if we wouldn’t settle there, we can still support them and daven for them. Just because you don’t agree with someones thinking, doesn’t make them (or you) insane or mad.

Have a good week.

J