Rabbi Furman

He certainly was not the typical Rabbi you would expect. In fact everythng about him was different but that did not seem to bother him one bit. The Rabbi of the Tekoa settlement passed away yesterday after along battle with Cancer. He met with Israels greatest enemies and no one seemed to understand what he really stood for, He claimed he was trying to solve the unsolvable Arab Israeli conflict. Truth be said that though trying very hard he did not really make any inroads in this regard though his tenacity and conviction seemed out of the ordinary. Even those who thought him eccentric were deeply hurt and sad on his passing, He loved the land of Israel, of that there is no doubt and tried to make the Jewish world and entire world a better place to live. Few have those lofty goals as their moral compass. Thought the writer of these words did not agree with his tactics one can certainly agree with his goals. That should be inspiration enough for most.

Obamas visit

We are told that Obama is planning to create a new framework for Palestinian statehood by 2014. That being on the stated purposes of his visit to Israel in a few weeks. It is the theater of the absurd to thnk that this is till possible to do. According to some reports Obama will demand a set timetable for Israeli withdrawals from Judea and Samaria as part of this plan. This possibility is so absurd that it boggles the mind. There is zero chance that any Jewish settlement will be dismantled in the near future anywhere in Judea and Samaria for a few simple reasons. 1. The Prime Minister has said repeatedly that he will not do any more unilateral withdrawls without a clear security based peace treaty 2. The Arab side refuses to comply with any of the major conditions The Prime ?inister has put forth for a final staus agreement 3. Israels new government will surely be against any unilateral withdrawal so even if Netanyahu changed his mind it would be politically impossible. It just can't happen. What happens if Obama uses the release of Jonathan Pollard as a bribe to Netanyahu to do something?? Interesting question indeed.

10k in Jerusalem

Its scary to hear stories of people your age who have undergone heart procedures like angio plasties or bypasses or even worse. If these people had thought ahead and lived a healthier lifestyle they could have avoided those life threatening medical interventional episodes. Excersise is the single most important thing that one can do to avoid medical compalictions. Now to the 10k run. There were 8,000 people who decided to sign up to run 10k in Jerusalem 2 days ago. It was not a easy course but then undergoing a triple bypass or worse is much more difficult. After training for many months my partner and I started intensive training about 6 weeks before the race to raise stamina and endurance. After that we thought we were ready. The morning of the race I was jumpy and nervous. I was worried about the difficulty I often have in these races and finishing in a respective time. The enormous crowds did not help the cause as we needed to wait around before they let us go. The first three Kilometers may have been the most difficult as your body warms up but even after that the steep hills never let you get into a rythym that you need and want. The last hill before the finish was very difficult and made it difficult to end with a burst of speed. Final time 1:06:31 Try to do better next year. Keep moving and keep healthy.