For Zion's sake will I not hold my peace, and for Jerusalem's sake I will not rest, until the righteousness thereof go forth as brightness, and the salvation thereof as a lamp that burneth.

L'ma'an Tzion lo echesheh. U'l'ma'an Yerushalayim lo eshkot. Ad yetzi ka no ga tzidkah. Lo echesheh.

למען ציון לא אחשׁה ולמען ירושׁלם לא אשׁקוט עד יצא כנגה צדקה וישׁועתה כלפיד יבער

Isaiah 62:1

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Saturday, August 9, 2014

In Loving Memory ... Continued

Shalom Friends and Family,
 
Last month, I did a post in memory of the guys who so bravely fought for Israel and lost their lives in doing so.  This last week Israel started pulling their troops out of Gaza.  But in between the time of my last post and them pulling the soldiers out, 24 more lives were lost, and I just wanted to share these names and pictures with you.  Please continue to lift up all these families in your prayers.  Thank you! 
Shabbat Shalom.
 
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ תודה ישראל ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
(Thank you Israel)
 

Sec.-Lt. Hadar Goldin, 23, of Kfar Saba, was killed in battle in Gaza on August 1.
Major Benaya Sarel, 26, of Kiryat Arba, an officer in the Givati Brigade was killed on August 1 during clashes with terrorists in southern Gaza.
St.-Sgt. Liel Gidoni, 20, of Jerusalem, a soldier in the Givati Brigade was killed on August 1 during clashes with terrorists in southern Gaza.

 
Sergeant First Class (res.) Daniel Marash, 22, of Rishon Lezion, a reservist combat soldier in the Armored Corps was killed in a Hamas mortar attack in the Eshkol region on July 31, 2014.

 
Capt. (res.) Liran Adir (Edry), 31, of Ezuz, a reservist combat soldier in the Armored Corps was killed in a Hamas mortar attack in the Eshkol region on July 31, 2014.

 St.-Sgt. Noam Rosenthal, 20, of Meitar. a combat soldier in the Armored Corps was killed in a Hamas mortar attack in the Eshkol region on July 31, 2014.

 
Capt. Omri Tal, 22, of Yehud, a combat soldier in the Armored Corps was killed in a Hamas mortar attack in the Eshkol region on July 31, 2014.

 
St.-Sgt. Shay Kushnir, 20, of Kiryat Motzkin, a combat soldier in the Armored Corps was killed in a Hamas mortar attack in the Eshkol region on July 31, 2014.

 
St.-Sgt. Guy Algranati, 20, of Tel Aviv was killed in a booby-trapped tunnel shaft in southern Gaza on July 30. He served in the elite Maglan infantry unit.
Guy

St.-Sgt. Omer Hay, 21,
of Savyon was killed in a booby-trapped tunnel shaft in southern Gaza on July 30. He served in the elite Maglan infantry unit.
omer

St.-Sgt. Matan Gotlib, 21,
of Rishon Lezion was killed in a booby-trapped tunnel shaft in southern Gaza on July 30. He served in the elite Maglan infantry unit.
matan Gotlib
Sergeant Daniel Kedmi, 18, of Tzofim, killed in an attempted infiltration into Israel on Monday via a cross-border tunnel from Gaza, on July 28.
Daniel Kedmi

Sergeant Barkai Yishai Shor, 21, of Jerusalem, killed in an attempted infiltration into Israel on Monday via a cross-border tunnel from Gaza, on July 28.
Barkai Shor

Sergeant Sagi Erez, 19, of Kiryat Ata, killed in an attempted infiltration into Israel on Monday via a cross-border tunnel from Gaza, on July 28.

Sergeant Dor Deri, 18, killed in an attempted infiltration into Israel on Monday via a cross-border tunnel from Gaza, on July 28.

Sgt. Nadav Raimond, 19, from Shadmot Dvora, was killed in an attempted infiltration into Israel on Monday via a cross-border tunnel from Gaza, on July 28.
Nadav Raimond

Corporal Niran Cohen, 20 of Tiberias. Served in the 7th Armor Brigade, killed by a mortar attack on Eshkol, on July 28.
Niran Cohen

Corporal Meidan Maymon Biton, 20 of Netivot. Served in the 7th Armored Brigade, killed by a mortar attack on Eshkol, on July 28.
Meidan Biton

St.Sgt. Eliav Eliyahu Haim Kahlon, 22 of Safed. Served in the 7th Armor Brigade, killed by a mortar attack on Eshkol, on July 28. 

Sgt. First Class Adi Briga, 23
of Beit Shikma. Served in the 7th Armor Brigade, killed by a mortar attack on Eshkol, on July 28. 
 
St.-Sgt. Moshe Davino, 20, of Jerusalem was killed in action inside Gaza on July 29.
NCO Sgt. First Class Barak Refael Degorker, 27, from Gan Yavne, was killed after he was struck by a mortar shell fired by Palestinians in the Gaza Strip
.
Captain Liad Lavi, an officer in an infantry unit, died on July 26 after he was hospitalized from wounds he had sustained in the southern Gaza Strip on July 25.

Chief Warrant Officer Rami Kahlon, 39, a non-commissioned officer serving in the Paratroopers Brigade, died after succumbing to wounds he had sustained in Gaza the week before.

Friday, August 1, 2014

A Month In Review: July

Hello Friends!
 
I hope you all had a great month.  As I checked the July picture file, I found that our photographers did not really photograph July (at least not the "life" part of it ... there were lots of business-related pictures).  So this post is not going to have any pictures!  
 
July was a busy month for us, it was mainly packed full of work and business-related things.  Besides that, we stayed busy with different activities such as watching July 4th fireworks with friends at our city park, Shabbat meetings, music lessons, a day trip out to where we used to live in western TN, canning and freezing garden veggies; but most of all, the whole family has been watching the Israeli news ... our hearts are aching for those over there who are going through this time, and for the soldiers, but especially our soldier friends who are in the hot zone of the war.
 
I hope you have enjoyed this little update ... maybe next month we will have more to share :)  We pray you have a blessed coming month!  Shabbat Shalom.
 

Saturday, July 26, 2014

In Loving Memory ...

Shalom dear Friends and Family,
 
In Ecclesiastes we read:
 
"To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted; A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away; A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace."  Ecclesiastes 3:1-8
 
Earlier today, I saw a list of the names and pictures of the 40 IDF soldiers who have died in fighting for Israel in the Operation Protective Edge.  In loving memory of these guys and their sacrifice, I wanted to share this with you all.  Please prepare yourself though, it is not easy to look at this list.  It is heart-wrenching.  Each morning, our family looks at the Israel news ... we hope and pray that our eyes do not meet with any more casualties ... but if there are, we hold our breath as we look at the names and silently pray, "Father, let it not be --- ".  Please remember the families and friends of these guys in your prayers ... I cannot even fathom what they must be going through.  Our hearts deeply ache for you all in this time.  Please also continue to pray for the rest of the soldiers ... for their protection, strength, comfort and faith.  Please pray for the leaders to have wisdom in the decisions they have to make.  And also, let us not forget to pray for the civilians ... even through the turmoil and war, may they find peace and rest on this Shabbat.  In Psalm 122:6 it tells us to pray for the peace of Jerusalem ... may I add in, ve'kol Yisrael (and all of Israel).  But most of all ... let us pray for Israel to come to know their Savior and Redeemer, Yeshua Ha'Mashiach! 
 
Thank you and Shabbat Shalom.
 
 
 ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ תודה ישראל ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
(Thank you Israel)
 
 
St.-Sgt. Amit Yeori, 20, from Jerusalem, was killed Friday when Maglan forces clashed with terrorists in southern Gaza.
Staff Sergeant Amit Yeori
  
 
Lt. Roy Peles, 21, from Tel Aviv, was killed overnight Friday after the armored personnel carrier he was traveling in was hit. He was raised to the rank of lieutenant after the incident.
Lt. Roy Peles
 

St.-Sgt. Avraham Grintzvaig, 21, from Petah Tikvah, was a Nahal soldier and was killed as part of operational duty in the northern Gaza Strip overnight Friday, he was promoted to the rank of staff sergeant in wake of the incident.
Staff Sergeant Avraham Grintzvaig
 

St.-Sgt. Gal Bason, 21, from Holon was an engineer corps soldier and was killed as part of operational duty in northern Gaza.
Staff Sergeant Gal Bason
 
 
St.-Sgt. Guy Boyland, 21, from Ginosar, a combat engineer,  was killed in a firefight with Hamas gunmen on July 25 in the southern Gaza Strip.
 

St.-Sgt. Guy Levy, 21, from Kfar Vradim in northern Israel was killed in action Friday afternoon, July 25, in central Gaza while serving the Armored Corps.
guy levy

NCO Master Sgt. (res.) Yair Ashkenazy,
36, from Rehovot, a reserve soldier serving in the reserves brigade of the Bahad 1 officer training base, was killed in battle in the north Gaza Strip early on the morning of July 25, 2014.


Lt. Paz Eliyahu, 22,
from Kibbutz Evron, a Paratroopers officer, was killed when an explosive detonated near his position on July 23, 2014.


St.-Sgt. Li Mat, 19,
from Eilat, a Paratroopers soldier, was killed when an explosive detonated near his position on July 23, 2014.
Li Mat

St.-Sgt. Shahar Dauber, 20,
from Kibbutz Ginegar, a Paratroopers soldier, was killed when an explosive detonated near his position on July 23, 2014.



Captain Natan Cohen, 23,
from Modi'in, a company commander in the Armored Corps was killed in Gaza on Tuesday, July 22. He was promoted from the rank of Lieutenant posthumously.


Captain
Dmitri Levitas, 26, from Jerusalem and Geshur, was killed by sniper fire in Gaza on Tuesday, July 22. He was a company commander serving in the Armored Corps.
 

St.-Sgt. Evyatar Turgeman, 20,
from Beit She'an, was killed on Tuesday morning in a firefight with terrorists in Gaza. Turgeman served in the Paratroopers Brigade.
Evyatar Turgeman

NCO Ohad Shemesh, 27, from Beit Elazari was killed in action on Monday from enemy fire in the Gaza Strip.
Ohad Shemesh

St.-Sgt. Oded Ben Sira, 22,
from Nir Etzion served in the Nahal brigade. He was killed on Monday in clashes with terrorists in the Gaza Strip.
Oded Ben Sira

St.-Sgt. Jordan Bensemhoun, 22, from Ashkelon served in the Golani Brigade. He was killed Monday in an exchange of fire with terrorists in the Gaza Strip.
Jordan Ben Simon

St.-Sgt. Yuval Dagan, 22, from Kfar Saba served in the Golani Brigade. He was killed Monday in an exchange of fire with terrorists in the Gaza Strip.
Yuval Dagan

St.-Sgt. Tal Yifrah, 21
, from Rishon Lezion, served in the Golani Brigade. He was killed Monday in an exchange of fire with terrorists in the Gaza Strip.
Tal Yifrah

Chief Warrant Officer Baynesian Kasahun, 39
, of Netivot served in the Northern Brigade of the Gaza Division. He was one of four soldiers killed when his military jeep was hit with an anti-tank missile fired by a Gazan terrorist squad, which used a cross-border tunnel to infiltrate southern Israel on Monday morning.
Baynesian Kasahun

Sec.-Lt. Yuval Haiman, 21, of Efrat, was a soldier from the Bahad 1 officer training base. He was killed Monday morning when his military jeep was hit with an anti-tank missile fired by a Gazan terrorist squad.
Yuval Haiman

Sgt. Nadav Goldmacher, 23, of Beersheba soldier from the Bahad 1 training base was killed Monday morning when his military jeep was hit with an anti-tank missile fired by a Gazan terrorist squad.
Nadav Goldmacher

Lt.-Col. Dolev Keidar, 38, of Modi'in, was commander of the Gefen Battalion of the IDF’s Bahad 1 officer training base. He was killed when his military jeep was hit with an anti-tank missile fired by a Gazan terrorist squad Monday.
Dolev Keidar

Stf.-Sgt. Shachar Tase, 20, from Pardesiya, served in the Golani Brigade and was killed when Hamas terrorists targeted his APC in Gaza.
Shachar Tase

Stf.-Sgt. Daniel Pomerantz, 20
, of Kfar Azar, served in the Golani Brigade and was killed when Hamas terrorists targeted his APC in Gaza.
Daniel Pomerantz

Sgt. Shon Mondshine, 19,
of Tel Aviv, served in the Golani Brigade and was killed when Hamas terrorists targeted his APC in Gaza.
Shon Mondshine

Sgt. Ben Oanounou, 19, from Ashdod, served in the Golani Brigade and was killed when Hamas terrorists targeted his APC in Gaza.
Ben Oanounou

Stf.-Sgt. Oren Simcha Noah, 22, of Hoshaya, served in the Golani Brigade and was killed when Hamas terrorists targeted his APC in Gaza.
Oren Noah

St.-Sgt. Oron Shaul, 21, from Poriyah served in the Golani Brigade and was in the infantry APC targeted by Hamas in an attack in Gaza on Sunday. St.-Sgt. Shaul's body remains unaccounted for.
Oron Shaul
St. Sgt. Moshe Malko, 20, of Jerusalem was a Golani combat soldier killed during IDF operations in the Shejaia neighborhood in Gaza on Sunday morning.
Moshe Malko

Sgt. Max Steinberg, 24, a lone soldier from Woodland Hills, California who lived in Beersheba, was killed in action overnight Sunday. Steinberg was a Golani brigade sharpshooter.
Max Steinberg

St.-Sgt. Gilad Rozenthal Yacoby, 21, of Kiryat Ono, was killed in action in Gaza on Sunday along with 12 other soldiers and officers in the Golani Brigade.
Gilad Yacoby

Capt. Tsvi Kaplan, 28,
of Kibbutz Merav, was killed on Sunday in Gaza. Kaplan was set to become a company commander in the Golani Brigade in the coming months.
Tzvi Kaplan

Maj. Tzafrir Bar-Or, 32, from Acre, was killed on Sunday in Gaza. Since his conscription in the IDF, Bar-Or served in the Golani Brigade through numerous conflicts in Lebanon, Gaza and the West Bank.
Tzafir Bar-Or

Sgt. Nissim Sean Carmeli, 21
, a lone soldier from South Padre, Texas who lived in Ra’anana and served in the Golani Brigade, was killed on Sunday.
Sean Carmeli

St. Sgt. Oz Mendelovich, 21, of Atzmon in northern Israel served in Golani. He was killed on Sunday in Gaza.
Oz Mendelovich

2nd-Lt. Bar Rahav, 21, from Ramat Yishai served in the Combat Engineering Corps and was mortally wounded on Saturday as a result of an anti-tank missile fired at an IDF vehicle in southern Gaza.
Bar Rahav

St. Sgt. Bnaya Rubel, 20
, from Holon, served in the Paratroopers 101st Battalion. He was shot dead by a terrorist in Gaza who emerged from a tunnel shaft and opened fire at soldiers.
Bnaya Rubel

Maj.(res.) Amotz Greenberg, 45, of Hod Hasharon was killed on Saturday morning trying to stop Hamas infiltrators who had crossed Israel’s southern border through a tunnel.
Amotz Greenberg

Sgt. Adar Barsano, 20,
from Nahariya was killed in action on Saturday when his patrol unit encountered a Hamas terrorist cell that had infiltrated into Israel close to the Gaza border.
Adar Barsano

St.-Sgt. Eitan Barak, 20, of Herzliya was killed at around 3 a.m. on Friday morning, becoming the first fatality since the IDF ground offensive began Thursday night. A combat soldier in the Nahal Brigade, the circumstances of his death were under investigation.
Eitan Barak

Friday, July 11, 2014

Please Pray

Shalom Friends and Family,
 
I just wanted to ask for prayer on behalf of our Israeli brethren.  I do not know how many of you keep up with the news and what is happening in Israel ... but they need our prayers.
 
For those of you who did not know, last month 3 Israeli teenagers were kidnapped and murdered.  For years now, Gaza has been firing rockets into Israel ... but recently it has gotten worse.  Hamas (Islamic terrorist group) has claimed responsibility for the death of the teens as well as the hundreds of rockets fired on Israel.  I just saw a report that from about 12am on Friday (in Israel) to about 1:30pm the same day, 44 rockets were fired at Israel from Gaza.  Israel's Prime-minister Benyamin Netanyahu has said that Hamas will pay for this and has started an operation called "Operation Protective Edge" to protect his people and to put an end to these terror attacks.  On the other hand, in Gaza, Hamas is using civilians as human shields from Israel's defense fire.
 
We heard from one of our friends in Tel Aviv, and she said how they spend most of the day in the basement of a building which is like a bomb shelter.  She also said how there was a parade that day on the street we lived on while in Israel this last time.  She said that 400 Muslims where marching yelling, "Death to the Jews".  This sounds peace-loving doesn't it?  We have friends who are in the army and also one (that we know of so far) who has been called up ... Israel has called up 40,000 reserves.
 
Psalm 55:16-17 says, "As for me, I will call upon Elohim; and YHWH shall save me.  Evening, and morning, and at noon, will I pray, and cry aloud: and He shall hear my voice."
 
Please, take time to pray for our Israeli brethren and the Arab civilians that are innocently caught in the middle.  It is very dangerous.  Please pray for protection, for strength, for wisdom (especially for the government leaders and soldiers).  Please also pray that this situation will bring people closer to the Father and that their eyes will be opened to their Messiah Yeshua ... and that they will find peace and comfort in Him.
 
For those of you who have iPhones ... there is a app at you can download that will give an alarm each time a rocket is fired from Gaza ... I think this is a great way to keep up with covering Israel with our prayers.  If you don't have an iPhone ... you can keep up (to some extent) with watching the Israeli news from Arutz Sheva, Jerusalem Post, The Times of Israel, etc.  Lately, I have been watching J-Post's live blog which give updates regularly.
 
Thank you all so much and Shabbat Shalom!
 
This song is from Psalm 121, sung by Sons Of Korah.