Ari Bussel

The Simple Joys of Life

The future is anchored in the past. Growth is fed by family values, honesty, integrity and always stepping back to look at the bigger picture, putting oneself in the shoes of another, asking: Am I behaving the way I would want to be treated? A momentary immense anger can dissipate into nothing if we only evaluate the situation and ask ourselves: Why are we angry? What is it we are fighting? Is it worth our energy and emotions?

Indicators of Our Time

For those who are not following the price of a barrel of oil this year, it has crept up above $80. There is direct correlation between the price of oil and the major economic indicators. The better the “feeling” that the economy is performing well, the higher the price of oil. It is nothing but sheer folly, for we know that oil is our downfall.

The Magic of Remembering

I live at the center of it all. Hollywood, for those who do not know, is just a neighborhood in Los Angeles. Hollywood Boulevard, until a few years ago when it was cleaned up, was a center of prostitution, drug addicts and other forms of decay. It remains, as always, the major tourist attraction in Los Angeles, with thousands walking daily along the star-strewn blocks from La Brea eastward through the Kodak and Grauman’s Chinese Theater.

Candles of Darkness

It was the last Monday of the year 2009, and at 5PM already dark here in Los Angeles. The weather treated us nicely, so we stood with only one or two layers, signs in our hands (“We Stand with Israel”) along with US and Israeli flags and candles.

Israel, Hear Our Prayer

‘I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Therefore choose life, that you and your offspring may live, loving the Lord your God, obeying his voice and holding fast to him, for he is your life and length of days, that you may dwell in the land that the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob, to give them.”

Israel, A Nation Lost

A prospective juror who is a priori prejudiced will, as a matter of course, be dismissed from serving on a jury pool. Many use this knowledge to be excused from jury service. Israel finds herself in the most peculiar position of always being found guilty before deliberations even begin. The World, itself Judge and Jury, stands and applauds: the harsher the treatment, the stronger the clapping.

A Border Crossing

The Jordan River A family friend is a professor at the University of Oregon in Eugene. The city is located at the confluence of the McKenzie and the Willamette rivers. I vividly remember looking at awe at a river, thinking of God’s power, the enormity of nature and the fragility of man.

Israel, December 1, 2009

Israel’s Prime Minister has a viral flu, prompting his doctor to order cessation of activities for a second day in a row. The prevalent attitude is expressed in the following remark:

Introspection

“Israeli society, over all, is moderate centrist, value-driven (even if there are times of crises) and strong. For decades I hear cries from the Right (similar to your own) and the Left, and see what a wonder – not one of these comes into being.

Cry Palestine, Stand Proud Israel

Our last Postcard, sent just before the dawn of the Jewish year 5770, talks about healthcare in the USA, a system that is faulty and failing due to the burden of bureaucrats and less-than-capable workforce, enormous pressures of frivolous lawsuits and those who cannot afford to see a doctor but visit the emergency rooms instead and the boundless greed of pharmaceutical companies.

Prepare, Before it is Too Late

One often relies on government at all levels to protect one’s long-term interests, to be ready for unforeseen eventualities. In an emergency, all that needs to be done is open a manual and follow the instructions. Preparedness and training support this readiness assumption. Yet, real emergencies and disasters never resemble those we anticipate and for which we train. Thus, improvisation, flexibility and thinking outside the box must all be exercised for real-time events.

The Second Disengagement

"According to the Hebrew calendar, today is the fourth anniversary of the disengagement. Israel uprooted approximately 10,000 Israelis – men, women and children – from their homes. To our regret, Gaza has become a base for Hamas-led, Iranian-sponsored terrorism; thousands of rockets and missiles have been fired at us. Therefore, today, I would like to emphasize …

A Whisper of Love

A new boy was born early this morning to Israeli parents. Mother and son are doing well. The sister awaits the new “gift” to arrive, she is expecting to dress and bathe it. A young brother, a son, a grandson has arrived to the world, not knowing the maelstrom that will soon threaten to take us over.

Collaborators in the Pursuit of Freedom

I ask myself: Has Israel learned nothing during its 61 years as a modern state? In my previous Postcard, I recalled the 1974 Maalot Massacre in which 105 children were taken hostage in a school. A soldier, three members of one family and 22 boys and girls were murdered on that day, 35 years ago.

35 Years After

While in Israel, I was invited to visit the old cemetery of Tsfat. Major restoration work is taking place there, alongside a hillside spread with stones. Underneath are hundreds of graves. Over the centuries, their tombstones became rubble, washed away by rain, exposing some of the graves underneath. This was my opportunity to learn that all tombstones in a Jewish cemetery face East, thus all headrests are aligned, row after row, toward Jerusalem.

You Only Have to Look

One takes the same route day after day but never notices the full picture. He walks, runs, takes the bus or drives and is able to provide a very detailed description of the route. But there are holes in the picture, those things which are obvious but which he has not noticed before. If only he tried the other side of the street or the reverse course, he would find extraordinary things staring at him. Once noticed, they become newly acquired friends, their presence obvious from time immemorial.

A Rose to a World Gone By

A day following his Cairo Speech, US President Barack Hussein Obama toured Buchenwald Concentration Camp accompanied by German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Holocaust survivors Elie Wiesel and Bertrand Herz.

Waking Up to a Nasty New Reality

Israel is waking up to a nasty new reality. In preparation to his Middle East trip, President Obama warned that partners and friends must be forthcoming among themselves. King Solomon’s proverb immediately comes to mind: “Better an uncovered rebuke than hidden love” Proverbs 27:5.

What Tomorrow May Bring

Once long ago, a future US President talked about hope, about home of the brave, the shield of democracy and the sword of freedom. He was the youngest President, soon thereof also the youngest to die. To this very day we think with reverence at JFK, our 35th President.

Shabbat candles

Two candles, starting at equal length. One candle is still alive, the other barely, almost extinct but not. It is the last spark that goes out, at times with a sliver of dusk and no more, that captures my imagination as much as the glory of the lights of two candles symbolizing Shabbat. The candles are like a married couple, a man and a woman, the essence of life.