I Do Choose What to Believe, and I Believe That COVID IS MORE DANGEROUS THAN THE VACCINE

Barely a week ago, I called our healthcare provider to book an appointment for the third or booster vaccine against COVID corona. Just a couple of days later I went to a nearby clinic and was vaccinated.

Since the epidemic began, I've been following regulations/suggestions even when it meant that I wore a mask at the birthday parties for our preschool grandchildren. Except for the occasional video call, they didn't see our smiles for a year. Masks were only taken off after being vaccinated.

Even when the kids came over, I'd serve but not eat with them.

For decades I've been known as a "health food nut." My cakes and challot are made with whole-wheat flour and brown sugar. I had been a vegetarian for a quarter of a century. My kids were "deprived," since we didn't have chocolate, candy or soda in the house when they were growing up.

I rarely rushed to a doctor for prescriptions, but I never had a doubt that certain illnesses and conditions healed best, most quickly and sometimes only by taking conventional medicines. 

Proudly I recall standing in line with my first grade class to be vaccinated against polio during that historic time in the middle of the 20th century. Later we were given different versions of the vaccine, since it was all so experimental. None of the experts were sure which would be most effective.

Every medicine, vaccine can have a rare dangerous side-effect, but as a CPA's daughter the math is simple. The illnesses/conditions we take those medicines for are much more dangerous. That's why so much money is needed for pharmaceutical research and testing. 

The polio vaccine was horrendously experimental but brilliantly effective. The Small Pox vaccine was a nightmare causing days of high fever. My two eldest children had to get it, and I'll never forget how sick it made them. But today Small Pox is history, and my younger children and grandchildren didn't require it. These deadly, crippling illnesses are now unknown. 

If people would just get vaccinated against COVID corona, we'll be able to return to a more pleasant life. Periodic vaccines and boosters are a small price to pay for health.

The financial ripoff isn't conventional medicine. It's all those pyramid schemes selling "oils" and "vitamins" etc. via agent after agent. The "sales staff" invites friends to "invest" and sell and then find new suckers to join their schemes. None of these medicines/products have been through any sort of proper testing. But lots of people are getting rich and even more are losing money. And some who should have trusted their doctors are losing their health and even their lives.
 

Yom Kippur Fasting, Only if Doctor Approves

At yesterday's pre-Yom Kippur shiur, class/talk, in the neighborhood we were taught a Mishna about the basic laws of the holiest day in the Jewish Year. It begins by saying that eating and drinking are forbidden, as are bathing, oiling the skin and wearing leather shoes. A bit later, it lists the exceptions.

Considering that most everyone in the room was of what we'll call senior citizens or close to it, the exceptions for medical reasons was the topic many discussed while leaving. Actually, the first example of someone who could eat on Yom Kippur was a pregnant woman who craves some food she smells. The instructions are that she eat, until her soul calms down.

After that a few medical conditions are described, though not in modern terms. The "cure" in all cases is to eat/drink until the person seems recovered.

Nowadays, eating on Yom Kippur is usually permitted in advance for people who are prescribed certain medications, which should not be taken on an empty stomach. Since I live near the local synagogue, a neighbor has left food in my house for Yom Kippur eating. One year, before lighting the pre-Yom Kippur candles, I set up my fridge lights as or Shabbat, so I could open it without turning on the light. At the time I felt a bit foolish, since we don't need food on Yom Kippur, thank Gd, bli eyin haraa. But that year a neighbor unexpectedly needed to eat something for medical reasons, and I was able to serve her, even though unplanned.

These are the big questions for most:

• Whom do we ask about the possible dangers of fasting when suffering certain medical conditions? 
• Under what circumstance are we permitted or even required to eat on Yom Kippur?

Generally one is supposed to consult with a rabbi on matters of Jewish Law, but how much real medical knowledge does your rabbi have? Even doctors have specialties and patients are referred to specific doctors to treat different conditions. There are rabbis who recommend that the questioner consult with their doctor rather than making what is actually a medical decision. That is wisest and safest. 

Remember that Judaism promotes life, not endangering oneself. The fasting on Yom Kippur is important, but  it's not the essence of the day. The essence, the aim of Yom Kippur is our Teshuva, Repentance.

One of the reasons I make a Rosh Hashana "Fruit Head" is for a Healthy New Year

A Couple of Things The USA Can Learn From Israel

The other day I wrote Aliyah: Not The "Ultimate Sacrifice," and this post will tell of a couple of things that we do much better in Israel than many other countries, especially the United States.

Since gun laws, the "right" or "privilege" to own a gun by private citizens has become a major issue in America, I must say that Israel's laws concerning private gun ownership are the most sensible and realistic. Nobody has the right to own a gun. There's an approval process that not everyone passes before being able to go through with a gun purchase. You need a gun licence. To get the license you have to show a security need for a gun, mental stability and knowledge of of how to use it. Only the licensed owner is permitted to use/carry the gun, and it must be locked up when not not with the licensed owner. In Israel, guns are not sport, nor are they used for hunting. Target shooting is only in special places where innocent bystanders can't be harmed.

All Israelis are covered by basic healthcare. GP and basic tests are included. Medications are relatively inexpensive. There are emergency clinics so one doesn't need to go to the more expensive and unpleasant emergency rooms. If one is sent to the emergency room by a doctor, then the charge is different. And one of my biggest surprises was since I worked past retirement age, I was exempt from paying the monthly healthcare fee.  In Israel you have a choice of "sick funds." It is generally recommended to choose one that gives good service where you live. Here in Shiloh there are two, and they are both very good. Besides GPs and pediatricians, the one we go to has a number of other specialists weekly or monthly. Those unemployed or on welfare are also covered. In recent years the sick funds have been opening dental clinics, so dental care is now more affordable. The branches of all the sick funds are national, all over the country, so if you're not home and need a doctor, you can make an appointment in a nearby clinic.

I thank Gd that I live in Israel. It was one of the best decisions, if not the best I made in my entire life.

Not Even Jared Kushner Can make "Mideast Peace"

Donald Trump greets his daughter Ivanka and son in law Jared Kushner (R) at his election night rally in Manhattan, New York, November 9, 2016. (photo credit:REUTERS) (Jerusalem Post)

It sure must be nice to be so adored and respected by one's father-in-law, especially when he's a powerful wheeler dealer, reality TV star and recently elected President of the United States. But it sure shows how little Donald Trump really understands about the situation out here in the heart of Judea/Samaria aka "disputed territories," when he so blithely states:

JARED KUSHNER WILL 'BROKER MIDEAST PEACE' FOR THE WHITE HOUSE

In an interview with the Times of London, Trump said that Kushner, Ivanka Trump's husband, would to take on the task of negotiating peace between Israelis and Palestinians– an appointment Trump has previously floated due to the fact that Kushner "knows the region, knows the people, knows the players," Trump described in a previous interview. (Jerusalem Post)

It's not that Trump is an idiot, it really must be remembered that he was elected on a platform that emphasised the needs and desires of ordinary Americans and he didn't show any great interest in international affairs or claims that he would fix the world. That is one of the reasons that he attracted so much support.

I don't consider Kushner to be an idiot either. Remember that in business, sometimes you have to admit that a business plan must be cancelled, because it just won't work. In the building/project development business, which both Trump and Kushner understand and excel, there may be some underlying topographical or logistical problems discovered that just can't be fixed or would cost so much that the project would be neither viable nor profitable. In those cases, a wise and experienced businessman goes onto other projects, and I hope and pray that the Trump-Kushner team will realize that this "Mideast peace project" must be scrapped.

I hope that Kushner stays busy solving the problems Americans who voted for Trump, and others, are really concerned about, truly affordable healthcare and enough jobs with incomes one can live on.

Israel, As The World Sees It

U.S. News has published rankings of Sixty Best Countries, and Israel made it to #25. Even though there's a list, I'm not quite sure what the criteria really were, since the photos are extremely odd and political on the whole. It's all especially strange since we're ranked between Russia and Greece.

I'd think Israel should be well above those two countries. I've been living in Israel since 1970, after having been born and grown up in New York. When I first came to Israel, life here was so much more "old-fashioned" than what I had been used to. But now, there's no difference. If anything, Israel seems more advanced than many countries, and quality of life, including necessary things like affordable top notch healthcare and public transportation are far superior to most. There are also the things you can't measure, such as community and caring, which are based on Jewish values, traditions and law. For instance, what the pollsters called "Quality of Life" does not score Israel correctly.

OVERALL RANK #34 OVERALL SCORE 1.5 ATTRIBUTES SCORE Economically stable 2.9 A good job market 0.7 Affordable 0.1 Safe 0.2 Politically stable 0.8 Family friendly 1.2 Well-developed public education system 4.3 Well-developed public health system 3.4 Income equality 0.7

Israel is "politically stable." It has a very stable government system. Frequent elections are not the same as revolutions, so the 0.8 ranking/score misses the point completely. I remember in the 1970's reading a similar type of survey about various countries and their quality of government in which Israel did poorly, because the Labor party had been in power without stop for then about seventeen years. Labor wasn't voted out of office until 1977, nineteen years after Israel's Independence. As of late we've had "early elections" more than once, but the Likud has held power for most of them, which is a sign of stability. And the Israeli political system gives certain power and status to the opposition, unlike the American system which gives no official status to whomever loses Presidential Elections.

 To give an idea of how inaccurate the listing is, France is #8.

Like an Epidemic of Deaths, Another Eulogy for My Mother

In on of the Matan courses I've been taking, the one about ספר במדבר, Sefer Bamidbar, The Book of Numbers taught by Atara Snowbell, we've mentioned the subject of how/when the generation of the Exodus died out.  A punishment for their sins, for supporting the ten tribal heads who discouraged the immediate entering of the Land of Israel after G-d performed the great miracle of freeing them from Egyptian slavery, was that their generation would have to die out before the Jewish People could finally enter.  There's a question I remember her asking or talking about.  Did everyone die about the same time, or was it spread out over the forty, or more exactly about thirty-eight years?

The Chumash, the first Five Books of the Bible which recounts the beginnings of Jewish and World History, from Creation until the death of Moshe, Moses.

Deuteronomy Chapter 34 דְּבָרִים

ד  וַיֹּאמֶר יְהוָה אֵלָיו, זֹאת הָאָרֶץ אֲשֶׁר נִשְׁבַּעְתִּי לְאַבְרָהָם לְיִצְחָק וּלְיַעֲקֹב לֵאמֹר, לְזַרְעֲךָ, אֶתְּנֶנָּה; הֶרְאִיתִיךָ בְעֵינֶיךָ, וְשָׁמָּה לֹא תַעֲבֹר.	4 And the LORD said unto him: 'This is the land which I swore unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, saying: I will give it unto thy seed; I have caused thee to see it with thine eyes, but thou shalt not go over thither.'
ה  וַיָּמָת שָׁם מֹשֶׁה עֶבֶד-יְהוָה, בְּאֶרֶץ מוֹאָב--עַל-פִּי יְהוָה.	5 So Moses the servant of the LORD died there in the land of Moab, according to the word of the LORD.

There has been something strange going on among neighbors in Shiloh and among even other friends of mine.  For the past couple of months, it seems there always seems to be someone sitting shiva, sometimes even more than one at a time.  All of the people I know of who have died, died of natural death.  They didn't die in accidents or terror attacks.  There was no great drama involved with their deaths.  Their deaths had been expected.  All were ill, suffering.  When people ask me about my mother's death and I describe old age and physical deterioration, the accumulated cholesterol (like sludge) in the circulatory system and not waking up from sleep, so many people have similar stories about the recent death of their parents.

Yes, G-d controls coincidence the timing of life and death. Doesn't G-d have reasons?  Coincidence isn't random.

My mother lived longer than anyone in her family.  To reach the age of eighty-eight in her family, her parents and siblings, it's like living until one hundred and twenty one (121.)  Her younger sister by five years, my Aunt Natalie Rosenberg, died just a few months ago.  Only one other of their seven other siblings had passed her eightieth birthday, and if I'm not mistaken only one other even made it past seventy.

One thing many mentioned was that my mother was concerned about the importance of eating healthy food, whole wheat, fruits and vegetables and raw salads long before anyone else they knew.  It obviously made a big difference.  My mother had a very active life well into her eighties, but there's a limit how much we can improve our genetic make up.  My mother's long active life was a triumph over nature.

She loved museums and volunteered as a docent in the Nassau County Art Museum.  She had a special cane which could be opened into a chair, and that's how she got around when she needed to walk a lot.  She stuffed everything she could into her life until she could no longer control her mind and body.

One thing for sure.  She was a tough act to follow.



My parents and I at the NCSY
Ben Zakkai Honor Society Dinner when
I was inducted into the society.

Baruch Dayan Ha'Emet

 

Shirley Spiegelman

שפרה בת אברהם וחיה ריזיה

Shifra bat Avraham and Chaya Raisia

 

לעילוי נשמתה

Li'ilu'i Nishmata

May her Soul be Elevated

 

 

Israel's National Health System, Great!

Of course nothing is perfect, but in all honesty, I must say that the Israeli health system is one of the best.  Whenever I talk to people who live in the United States about what goes on there, I'm so grateful that my husband and I live here in Israel.

Whether employed full-time, part-time or not at all, Israelis get to choose which of a handful or so "Sick Funds" to join.  New immigrants are automatically accepted, no matter what their age or health status.  When I had brought my very elderly father here three and a half years ago, I had no problem integrating him into the local clinic of the Clallit Sick Fund.  The doctor and nurse invested time to discover which Israeli medicines matched those American ones he had been taking.  In some cases the Israeli equivalents seemed much better.  We paid extra so he'd be covered for more than the minimum, which came in handy when he needed new hearing aids, which we purchased at a discount.

Not long ago, when the doctor prescribed acupuncture for my shoulder injury, it was discounted by the Kupat Cholim Le'umit sick fund, because we pay for the "gold" level.  Various "over the counter" drugs are discounted for us, too, in the sick fund pharmacies.

The Nefesh B'Nefesh site has a good summary of Israeli health care.

Every resident can choose one of the four health plans (Clalit, Leumit, Maccabi and Meuhedet) regardless of age or health state. The plans provide an identical basic basket of services, as required by law, but availability of services may differ by location. These include doctor visits, diagnostic and laboratory services, hospitalization including births and discounts on prescription medications. Note that not every type of service, treatment or prescription is available in the basket. It is possible to purchase supplementary insurance (Bituach Mashlim) from your health plan in order to receive wider coverage. Differences between the plans may exist in these supplementary insurances. See Kupot Cholim (Health Plans).  (complete article)

The government makes changes annually.  Here is the latest:

The Cabinet today (Sunday, 30 December 2012), unanimously approved an approximately NIS 300 million expansion of the health basket, pursuant to the proposal of Deputy Health Minister Yaakov Litzman. The expansion will take effect at the beginning of next month.
The 2013 health basket was formulated by the Public Committee on the expansion of the Health Basket chaired by Shaare Zedek Medical Center Prof. Jonathan Halevy.
The 2013 health basket will focus on preventive care: For the first time, over 50,000 8th-grade girls will be inoculated against cervical cancer. Innovative drugs for the treatment of breast and ovarian cancer will be added including Afinitor, Perjeta and Avastin, as well as an innovative drug for treating prostate cancer, Zytiga. The basket will also include nuchal translucency testing and advanced pregnancy tests for various genetic diseases.
Communicated by the Prime Minister's Media Adviser

Of course, there are sometimes difficulties like in any bureaucracy, but that is the same for the entire world.  Nothing is perfect.  My sister's reports on the challenges she faces taking care of our parents' medical needs in the United States are horrifying.  The medical needs of the elderly make for very complicated decisions.

Obamacare may have solved some problems, but certainly not all.

It's Not Enough To Buy The Book; You Have To Read It

Hat tip AJG

When I was an EFL English Teacher, I was always reminding my students that touching a list of words translated from English to Hebrew wasn't going to make them automatically transferred to their brains.  They had to work hard and study the material.

Now, when I read all these optimistic, self-congratulatory articles about Obama's healthcare bill being passed, Americans who are expecting their medical care to now be easily affordable and available to all...  It's like those kids thinking that the necessary English vocabulary would magically go from paper to fingers to brain.

Americans, you don't know if the healthcare bill will do the job, or just end up being modern snake oil.  Even though the long convoluted bill does include a schedule of stages, just like any major government project, there will most likely be delays and cost-overruns.  The public and politicians will discover that passing the bill was the easy part.

Wait before blowing up the balloons and partying.