Volcanoes all around: What a blast!
Hi All, January 2nd, 2011 Grass Crater, City behind ‘G-d bless Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip,’ the Rabbi at Auckland Hebrew Congregation read from his notes on Shabbos. We remember hearing the blessing last year in New Zealand but it still sounds strange. However, as a colonial country, it is the norm. We recall when we were in elementary school, we would sing the anthem of England, asking Hashem to bestow blessings upon the queen. That was pre-1961, before South Africa became a republic and the then ruling class was able to rid itself of the ‘despised English’. We are not ‘doing’ politics here but that was the sentiment. Anyway, the announcement tickled us. Fortunately, we are not that ticklish; we did not roar with laughter during services. Sunny rainforest During our travels, many interesting things occur, including coincidences, too. If we were police officers, we would say we don’t believe in coincidences. On Shabbos, one such occurrence transpired. It goes something like ...