Our Technion UK Israel Tour - 7. Shabbat with our Cousins

The trip being over, we have spent a restful Shabbat with Stephnie's lovely family in the Moshav. 

For 25 hours, I went Sephardi and even gave a Dvar Torah in Hebrew at the Synagogue over Seudah Shlishit!

This evening, we went to to a local mall and had some delicious shakes. 

Our Technion UK Israel Tour - 6. The Media and Wine Tasting

All good things have to end eventually and this morning saw us meeting for the last time as a group.

Our guest today was a Middle East journalist who is trying to report the truth in a sea of hostility and shockingly poor journalism on the part of the world's media. 

He feels justifiably disheartened and disappointed (and I'm stating this extremely mildly) by seeing the profession he loves descend into the biased, subjective and poor state that it has placed itself since 7 October.

He told us that anyone who tries to present a viewpoint that is not favourable to the Palestinians is silenced and ignored by their editors and colleagues. It made for a pretty depressing session.

We then completed our written feedback forms and provided our opinions on the week. Highlights and areas to be improved upon (of which there were vurtually none). This has been a fantastic trip and the organisers have set the bar extremely high for any other charity that chooses to run something similar.

It was then up to the top floor, in a lounge looking onto the pool that we had the pleasure of tasting a range of wines from across this country and hearing the extraordinary story of how Rivka and Sam Baum, an English couple with a little child have set up a winery in the Golan.

A wonderful end to a wonderful tour. 

Stephnie and I took a Gett cab to the train station in Arlosoroff and boarded a train to our current location, Moshav Maor, near Pardes Chana, where we are spending Shabbat with her lovely cousins.

Shabbat Shalom to you all! 

Our Technion UK Israel Tour - 5. The IDF and IAI

Our morning began on a sobering note. 

We heard from four young members of the IDF, two men and two women, one of whom was amongst the observers who were watching the Gaza border. Her friends were either killed or taken alive into captivity (and these included the extraordinary Agam Berger).

They are part of the IDF Press Corps whose job it is to communicate with the world's politicians, media and groups like ours and explain the IDF's actions. Not an easy thing to do on any count. 

We the travelled to the nearby Peres Center for Peace and Innovation. This is a pretty impressive museum with some seriously cool features including lifesize Israeli innovators explaining how they and their partners created technology we use such as the Flash/Pen Drive (Dov Moran) and Waze (Uri Levene). Many of these are graduates of The Technion. 

We watched a video in a recreation of Peres' study and even tried a VR Headset which suggested future innovations. 

Some other features made this a very interesting visit. 

Our coach then took us to the offices of the IAI (Israel Aircraft Industries) where we had lunch and had a presentation by a former high ranking IDF officer who presented a history of the organisation. We then visited some hangers, the first of which stores UAVs. What a privilege it was to view these. 

Another coach trip to the beautiful villa of one of our leaders and after some much sought downtime, we met with a middle-aged reservist who explained the challenges of trying to balance his home and professional  life with the hundreds of days he has been spending in Gaza on numerous tours of duty. It was another very difficult conversation. 

The evening ended with some light relief courtesy of a singer who serenaded us with Israeli songs. 

Our Technion UK Israel Tour - 4. Haifa

We are currently on our coach, heading back to Tel Aviv from a Druze village, 14 km from the Lebanese border. We were hosted by the members of the smallest Druze village in Israel. Our host is a graduate of The Technion and we heard from and met both him and his young friends. These are extraordinary people in every sense of the word.

To be honest, we are still trying to absorb the horrific reports about the situation at Suweida concerning the  recent massacre of the Druze by the Syrians and their current precarious state, all of which bears an uncanny resemblance to what happened in Gaza nearly two years ago. 

Our speaker was a former psychologist and current lecturer at the Technion who is a Druze lady with two young daughters.

It is truly barbaric. 

We drove there from the Haifa Dan Panorama where we attended fascinating lectures about technology to create alternatives to meat and an ingenious research project that is investigating the technology of using DNA to store data,  replacing current hardware such as DVDs, Blu-ray and other physical media. Extraordinary stuff.

We travelled there from the Rambam Hospital which was built the world's largest fortified underground car park which is also fully functional hospital ward on three levels and was built precisely for this purpose. This has to be seen to be believed! It was last converted from the former to the latter over the Iran War in June. 

We descended there having been entreated to a demonstration on how the hospital (and its Technion trained graduates) are creating 3D models to train surgeons to carry out complex operations. 

This was preceded by a fascinating talk by Professor Aaron Ciechanover who won the 2004 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his research on uncovering new ways of understanding the way in which proteins work. 

And I haven't even talked about the fascinating lectures at lunch regarding the use of AI in medical research. 

We travelled to the hospital from the Technion where we watched an incredible presentation regarding its history and the scientific successes its graduates and professors have developed. 

And to think that we awoke this morning and made our way from Tel Aviv. 

Another extraordinary day on this extraordinary trip. 

Our Technion UK Israel Tour - 3. Jerusalem

We explored the breakfast room and discovered at home more delicacies.

Thank you.You really can't beat a hotel Israeli breakfast!

So today, it was off to the Kotel (Western Wall) for a quick visit and I was delighted to be back after three years, albeit too briefly. We went to Mount Herzl and after we visited the great man's tomb, walked to a new area which houses the graves of some of the soldiers killed in Gaza. To say this was heartbreaking is an understatement. On the way out, we talked with a man whose son had been under the command of one of the young reservists who lost their life. Words fail me.

We had lunch at the Herzl Museum near the entrance and from there, we went to a new museum at Latrun which told the stories of Jewish soldiers who fought in World War Two. It's fully interactive and really is a must-see.

Back to the King David Hotel and a talk by a young Rabbi whose job is to perform search and rescue operations in Gaza. What a special individual. He was accompanied by a religious reservist who told us about his experience in Lebanon. It was difficult to keep the tears back.

We then had a fascinating talk by David Horovitz of The Times of Israel. This was following Israel's strike on the Hamas Leadership in Doha. I wish it could have lasted longer but you can imagine how busy he is, granted what's going on.

Dinner at a milky restaurant within sight of the Montefiore Windmill and Mishkenot Sha'ananim here we stayed during my Semicha Trip in 2016. It was a lovely end to the day.

We then made the coach trip back to it hotel.

Another unforgettable day over.

Our Technion UK Israel Tour - 2. The Tour Begins

It's been a long day!

After a delicious breakfast overlooking the beach,we assembled in a conference room and met with the others in the group who were very friendly.

After an introduction by our organisers, Alan and Ida, we heard a fascinating talk by a journalist, Maayan Jaffe-Hoffman who is the Executive Editor of ILTV. She gave us a detailed update on the current situation (and of course, we later heard about the horrific terrorist attack in Ramot ).

We then travelled to Meta's impressive offices and heard about its technological vision and approach to AI. Fascinating.

We had lunch and after some more presentations had some free time to wander around Rothschild Boulevard.

This was followed by a trip to the Moovit Headquarters in Ness Xiona and an impressive presentation by Ziv Kabaretti, the company's Chief Productivity Officer. It's very smart tech.

Back to our hotel (and an emotional reunion with my luggage) to hear an amazing talk by Bigadeer General (Reserves) Professor Jacob Nagel who was one of the originators of The Iron Dome. His talk was captivating and covered areas including the recent war with Iran and his thoughts on the current situation. Totally absorbing.

A delicious milky dinner at a local restaurant capped off an extraordinary day.

Tomorrow...Jerusalem!

Our Technion UK Israel Tour - 1. The Trip

The alarm went off at 04.00 and despite our best attempts to ignore it, we knew that planes don't wait for passengers! The drive to Heathrow was straightforward.

So far so good.

In preparation for the early morning Selichot prayers next week, I was wrapped in my Tallit and tefillin at a shockingly unreasonable hour near to the departure lounge. My fellow Jews (who eventually managed to muster together a minyan) started arriving in dribs and drabs.

Our ELAL flight took off only 23 minutes late which actually isn't too bad and the journey was mercifully uneventful, except for the extraordinary reunion with one of the stewardesses whom we had known as a teenager a decade or so ago. The Jewish World is sooo small!

So far so good.

And then after we landed, it wasn't.

Baggage retrieval conveyer #5 should have delivered our two large pieces of luggage. Unfortunately, it only managed to do half the job. In short, my luggage containing all of my clothes is either still in London or somewhere over Europe!

ELAL were very understanding and gave me a goody bag containing socks, a toothbrush, pyjamas, deodorant etc).

A pleasant but longish taxi ride to our hotel. I had a great conversation with the Israeli Arab driver who proudly showed me his daughter's high school grades. She scored 100% in every exam she had taken.This man is a proud Israeli who has been able to educate his four children and build a good life for himself and his family in Israel. He was really happy to share this with me.  

The Dame the realisation that I actually have nothing to wear which led to a shopping trip around the Dizengoff Centre. I'm now OK for tomorrow at least.

The highlight of the day was seeing one of my oldest friends, A with his wife V, who took us out for dinner. Meat definitely tastes better here.

We also gazed in wonder at the total lunar eclipse and the blood red moon. It's not due for another seven years. 

And there we have it. Day 1 done.

I don't have many clothes but hey, it's amazing to be back here again.

I'm writing wearing my ultra smart ELAL PJs!

And they've sent me a text to inform me that my suitcase will be delivered to our hotel sometimes tomorrow.

Things can only get better, eh?

Parashat Ekev: Safeguarding the Orchard

This week’s Parashah of Ekev contains some of the Torah’s most beautiful descriptions of the Land of Israel and its produce:

For the Lord is bringing you into a good land, a land of streams and springs and deep waters gushing out to the valleys and the hills, a land of wheat and barley, vines, fig trees and pomegranates, a land of olive oil and honey, a land where bread will not be scarce, where you will lack nothing, a land where the rocks are iron and where you can hew bronze from her hills.  And when you are satisfied, you shall bless the Lord, your G-d for the good land that He has given you.  (Devarim 8.7-11)

When I recall my many visits to Israel, my memories are flooded by wondrous sights which include the Banias waterfall in the Golan, the lush vegetation of Ein Gedi in the Judean Desert, the drive through the multicoloured patchwork of land that encompasses the Jezreel Valley and the  blossoming almond trees that line the Ayalon highway in the Shefelah (the flat region which follows the Mediterranean shore).

If you’ve travelled around Israel, I’m sure that you can think of many more beautiful vistas.

And then there’s the produce.  Think about the last time you bit into a chunk of juicy, sunbaked watermelon from a giant organism that could be used as a wrecking ball in house demolitions - the one you picked up at the Carmel Market.  You don’t forget that flavour!

Every fruit that I eat in Israel tastes different to its equivalent in Chutz La’aretz (outside the country) and don’t get me started on the cheeses, yoghurts, laban (a unique Israeli type of sour buttermilk dish) or chocomilk, the one sold in plastic pouches. 

This is not coincidental either.

Chazal tell us that the grain grown in the land of Israel has a spiritual dimension that is unique. The Torah instructs us to take numerous tithes from produce grown in Eretz Yisrael such as Termuah, Maaser (a tenth) and Challah. As a result, all who eat of these grains is granted a higher level of intelligence than they would, if these identical foodstuffs were eaten outside the land.

The same applies to the produce emanating from the vines. Tehillim (104.15) tells us that ‘wine gladdens a man’s heart’, none more so than that of Eretz Yisrael which contains a special spiritual aspect unique to the land.

Finally, olive oil which was used for many purposes, most famously as a fuel to light the Menorah in the Beit Hamikdash, acts as a source of enlightening our minds in understanding the Torah.

All three of the above are examples of how food from our precious land is incomparable with its equivalent in every other country.

As a proud Zionist, who has considered taking a medical to find out if his blood is actually coloured blue and white, just the thought of landing in Ben Gurion (which we will be doing, please G-d, soon) sends me into a tizzy.  I have to physically hold myself back from singing the Hatikvah right now!

But seriously, my passion for Israel also means that the highs I feel when I think about the country are countered by the anger and distress that overcomes me when I consider those who wish to do us harm, whether consciously or not.

And it is the metaphor of fruit that explains it best.

For those of us who believe that G-d gave the land to the Jewish people in perpetuity, the establishment of the State of Israel is, without a doubt, nothing short of a miracle.  Add to that, the prophecies of Kibbutz Galuyot, the ingathering of the exiles that are found in Yishayahu (Isaiah), Yirmiyahu and Yechezkel have been to a certain extent realised in the last 77 years.  The miracle that is Israel, a tiny country which, by every logical argument should not exist, is still here, despite all our enemies’ attempts to, in their terminology, ‘boycott, divest from and sanction’ or in one word, delegitimise. 

The metaphorical and physical seeds that were planted by the Chalutzim/Pioneers in the latter decades of the 19^th Century, were watered, nourished and came to fruition with  G-d’s (not so invisible) attention.  We are the generation that is blessed to benefit from the many ‘fruit’ both in an agricultural manner and through the extraordinary role that Israel plays in science, medicine and technology, to name but a few.

However, we need to take off our rose-coloured spectacles (which probably contain technology emanating from Israel!) and accept that some of the fruit have not been of the best quality.  In every batch of apples, there are always some that are rotten.  The politicians who should know better, use their positions in a manner that is unbecoming to their station.  The IDF doesn’t always get it right and makes mistakes that result in the loss of lives on both sides of the Gaza border.  Even some of the most sophisticated technology in the world wasn’t able to prevent the disaster that was October 7^th.  It failed and led to the current nightmare that we are living through.

But memories are extremely short and those whom we considered to be our friends and supporters, have conveniently forgotten the pioneering achievements that made Israel a world-class beacon in the battle to fight Covid.  These ‘fruits’ were shared with the rest of the world, less than half-a-decade ago.  This Israeli ‘orchard’ saved millions of lives.

And then the catastrophe happened and the country that had led the planet was reminded of its place and thrown onto the world’s garbage heap where it is being trampled upon by people we thought were allies. 

The ‘orchard’ of world leaders who trumpeted (no pun intended) their admiration of Israel throughout the Covid years allowed themselves to be swamped by tree after tree bearing rotten fruit.  Instead of trying to protect their reputations and by extension that of the populations they represent, they kowtowed to those amongst them who were affected by the virus of antisemitism.  In other words, the diseased trees which produced only rotten fruit, took over the orchard.

Shortly after the leaders of France, the UK and Canada declared their intention to (possibly in the case of the UK) recognize a ‘Palestinian State’, Ghazi Hamad (yimach shemo – may his name be blotted out) a member of Hamas’ political bureau said the following in an interview on Al Jazeera:

“The initiative by several countries to recognize a Palestinian state is one of the fruits of October 7.  We proved that victory over Israel is not impossible, and our weapons are a symbol of Palestinian dignity."

The key term here is ‘one of the fruits of October 7’.  How can anyone compare the barbarity and savagery of what happened as a ‘fruit’?

Whilst victory over Israel, a State which has given of its fruit to the rest of the world (just ask any Kenyan how drip-irrigation technology has impacted the countries’ ability to save itself from drought), would G-d forbid bring about a repressive Islamic state which would threaten the entire world.  Just look at how well that worked out in Iran.

Is this the ‘dignity’ that Palestinians desire?

And just as importantly, how can a so-called progressive West be demanding this?

Before the Jews returned to Israel, the area was a wasteland.

The blessings that G-d enumerates in this week’s Parasha remind us of what can be and indeed, what has transpired.

It is therefore incumbent on anyone who values the finest produce, in metaphorical and physical terms to ensure that it is given the opportunity to develop and grow.

Right now, there is a storm raging through the orchards, vineyards and fields that constitute the State of Israel.  To protect their produce, we must stand firm and do everything in our power to shield them from the rotten trees and fruit that threaten to swamp them.  It is not too late to plant new shoots and then remove the diseased fruit.  Every tree benefits from being pruned once it becomes overgrown.

Let us recall what we will see when order is restored:

For the Lord is bringing you into a good land, a land of streams and springs and deep waters gushing out to the valleys and the hills, a land of wheat and barley, vines, fig trees and pomegranates, a land of olive oil and honey, a land where bread will  not be scarce, where you will lack nothing, a land where the rocks are iron and where you can hew bronze from her hills.  And when you are satisfied, you shall bless the Lord, your G-d for the good land that he has given you.

May He continue to protect our people and precious country and may we see the establishment of real internal and external peace, a return of all the Hostages and the permanent destruction of Hamas, its rotten bedfellows and everything they stand for.

And finally, the existence of a fully revitalised orchard replete with the very finest apples.

Shavuah Tov.

A Response To Sir Keir Starmer

You might have noticed that I have refrained from commenting directly on Sir Keir Starmer's declaration yesterday.

The reason was because, as a Jew and a proud Zionist whose love of Israel runs within the fibre of my entire being, I was frightened of criticizing the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.

I was brought up to believe that this country, which prides itself as the 'Seat of Democracy' where Magna Carta was signed 810 years ago down the river from the Synagogue where I am a Senior Rabbi; which proved a safe haven for 10,000 Jewish kinder in the late 1930s; where we Jews could proudly boast that we were given freedom and equality that was the envy of the Western World; where I could walk in the streets wearing a kippah without fear of being attacked...

These were the foundations of my belief as a citizen of the United Kingdom.

Until I realised that they no longer existed.

Yesterday, Sir Keir Starmer decided that it is no longer in this country's interests to support everything that I believed in.

Last week, I met Omer Shem Tov. Two weeks ago, I met Keith Siegel. Two Jews who spent literally hundreds and hundreds of days living in a hell that I thought could never exist in the 21st Century.

Mr Prime Minister, in your one-sided declaration, where was your condemnation of Hamas? Did I miss the part about conditioning this country's support of a 'Palestinian State' on Hamas' actions ?

On Hamas declaring an end to its genocidal mandate against the only true democracy in the Middle East?

Against the only Jewish state in the entire world?

Did I miss the part about the UK recognising a 'Palestinian State' if every single hostage is returned? If Hamas promises not to use its citizens as human shields in order to achieve its nihilistic objectives? If Hamas agrees to lay down its weapons and promises never to 'carry out another 7th October'?

Did I miss the part of your declaration about holding them to account for what has transpired before, during and since that day?

Did I miss the bit where you spoke about the hand of friendship that the kibbutz members extended to the people of Gaza before that day?

Ferrying Palestinians to hospitals, inviting them into their homes, trying to forge peace whilst they were being played and Hamas was using the goodwill and billions of dollars donated to it for two decades building the tunnels and machinery it would employ to lead to what we are seeing today?

Where was that in your declaration, Mr Prime Minister?

Perhaps, I didn't see or hear that. Perhaps, I missed that part.

No-one who has a single ounce of decency wants to see the images emanating from Gaza right now.

No-one can fail to be moved by what has happened and there are no innocent parties but had Hamas and yes, many, many, many non affiliated Palestinians not carried out the barbaric, savage, bloodthirsty and sadistic attacks on 7th October and continued to turn a blind eye to the fate of the hostages (many of whom were and are still imprisoned in non-members' homes), the Gaza that you see on your screens, would be a very different place.

Why did you choose not to mention this in your declaration, Mr Prime Minister? Why?

What you have said and demonstrated is the bitter fact that I and my people are not important to you.

That the country I was born in has no respect for the country that has been the home of my nation for over three millennia.

Whilst the ancient Britons lived in caves, we were the citizens of two monarchies. Open your Bible and read about my people and how they were different to the nations that surrounded them. Read about what Judaism has gifted to the world.

And then explain how you, who is married to a Jewish woman, whose children are Jewish, who claims to 'do Friday night' and the Passover Seder - how you could have the chutzpah to stand up there in front of the world and point the finger at Israel, whilst ignoring the real culprits behind what you find so 'disturbing'.

Whether or not you carry out your threat, you and those of your colleagues who are pushing for such an action have shamed this country and everything we were brought up to believe that it once stood for.

Now, I've said it.

Parashat Balak: The Lion of Staines

 

One of the highlights of my week (aside from spending time with my lovely Staines community!) is my walk home from Shul along The Thames Path.

As I amble along the walkway, I admire the flora and fauna, particularly at this time of year.  A few weeks ago, I was treated to the wonderful sight of a pair of swans carefully guiding their cygnets in a straight line across the middle of the river.  Nearby, a brood of very young ducklings were learning how to navigate the water under the watchful eye of their proud mother.

I recently saw some surfers gliding past, which is a change to rowboats with their audible Coxswains who guide the crews.  It is a bit of balancing act because whilst admiring the natural views, I am mindful to stay out of the way of cyclists and runners who share the pathway with pedestrians such as myself.

Last Shabbat, as I was making my way back to the house, basking in the warm sunshine and looking for ‘my swans’, I passed a runner who wished me Shabbat Shalom which, as you will appreciate, is not something I hear that often in this part of the world!  Sensing the opportunity to recruit a potential new member of our community, I decided to find out a little bit more about him.  For reasons of anonymity, let’s call him ‘Dan’.

Dan is Jewish and has been running for a long time.  On 8^th October 2023, he decided that he would run a marathon to honour each hostage held in Gaza until every single one had returned home, dead or alive.  Having served in both the British Army and the IDF and having been involved in theatres of war, he is very aware of what is currently taking place in Gaza.

Each week, he travels to Staines from his home in northwest London and runs a marathon alongside others.  He told me that he has presented Israel’s case to the runners and that they are extremely supportive with ‘not a single antisemite amongst them’ (these are his words, not mine).

When I asked him whether he’d be interested in joining our community, he politely declined telling me that he is a ‘bad Jew’ who doesn’t ‘do’ Shul.  I of course disagreed and told him that I don’t believe in the idea of a ‘bad Jew’ and that it is not our place to judge others.

My brief chat with Dan left me feeling impressed and most of all inspired.  To take on such a feat, which tests his powers of endurance week in and week out, is truly remarkable.  To do so as a Jew in support of our brothers who are suffering in the hellish conditions under Gaza is simply indescribable in its magnanimity.  If that’s a definition of a ‘bad Jew’, I cannot perceive of its antonym.

This week’s Parasha of Balak focuses on the actions of the evil Bilaam, a ‘sorcerer for hire’, whose goal was to curse the Bnei Yisrael.  However, Gd had different plans for him which resulted in him blessing them instead.

Frustrated by his inability to curse the people through Gd’s intervention and by extension, not having been paid his wage by the disgruntled Moabite King Balak, he decided to wreak his revenge on the Bnei Yisrael by hatching the plot to entice them through the harlotry of the ‘daughters of Moab’ (and Midian - see Rashi 25.1).  This resulted in the deaths of 24,000 Israelites (through a plague) along with the prince of the tribe of Shimon and the daughter a tribal Midianite leader, who were killed by Pinchas, the grandson of Aharon.

These two sides to Bilaam demonstrate the power of blessings and curses.  When he wished to actualise the latter, this resulted in the carnage at Shittim located in Moab opposite Jericho, whilst the former constituted some of the most beautiful prose in the entire Torah.

When Bilaam was deciding on whether he should accompany Balak’s messengers, Gd came to him and said:

“Do not go with them…Do not curse this people, for they are blessed.” (19.12)

And blessed we are indeed.

I thought it was fascinating that when Israel launched the extraordinary attack on Iran last month, the name of the operation was derived from one of Bilaam’s blessings:

“See what Gd has done.
A people – see – rises like a lioness, lifts itself up like a lion.”  (20.24)

The simile of a lion and the Jewish people stretches back to Yaakov’s blessing to Yehudah in Parashat Vayechi:

“Yehuda is a lion’s cub.  From the prey, you have risen.  Like a lion, he crouches, lies down like a lioness; who dares to rouse him?” (49.9)

This idea was concretised through the shape of the Heichal, the central building in the Beit Hamikdash complex.  The Mishnah in Middot (4.7) states:

The Hekhal was narrow behind and broad in front, resembling a lion, as it says, "Ah, Ariel, Ariel, the city where David encamped" (Isaiah 29:1): Just as a lion is narrow behind and broad in front, so the Hekhal was narrow behind and broad in front.

Sadly, we are witnessing thousands of proto Bilaams who try their best to curse us in the streets of our cities, in social media and in parliaments around the world.  Gd deflects their curses and turns them into blessings as we have seen with the astonishing victories of the IDF against our enemies over the last year-and-three-quarters.  Dan, our Lion of Judah, blesses our people through his physical efforts to raise awareness of the plight of the hostages.

Far from being a ‘bad Jew’, he embodies everything that constitutes a hero in our eyes (although it would be lovely if he stepped into our shul every now and again and helped to make up that elusive minyan!)

We need the Dans of the world to remind others about how blessed we are to be the descendants of Yaakov Avinu.  How the promise that Gd made to Avraham has been realised with the establishment of Medinat Yisrael and how He protects our nation day in and day out.  We are experiencing deep pain and many our brothers and sisters have fallen but, like a lioness, I am in no doubt that we will rise again and eventually defeat our foes.

May Gd continue to protect and bless us and may we witness the return of our hostages to their families in the very near future. Finally, may He give Dan, our ‘Lion of Staines’ the strength and resolve to continue his athletic journeys along the Thames River Path until that day arrives.

Amen.

Shavua Tov