Two captured Israeli soldiers come home in coffins :(

Read West Bank Mama’s post “Angry and Sad,” then follow her links to a Dry Bones cartoon (“the short version”) and Trep’s post (“the long version”). Angry and sad is a good description of my own feelings, as well.

Update, evening, same day--On taking two soldiers off my prayer list

What can I possibly say? Since the summer of 2006, I've had Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev on my Sh'ma Koleinu list. ("Sh'ma Koleinu, Hear our voice" is a petitionary paragraph in the Amidah prayer, and many people add personal prayers in the middle of that paragraph, one sentence before the brachah/blessing.) For two years, I hoped that my worst fear--that they were already gone--was not true. Sadly, it was. I can't think of a worse reason to have to make a new Sh'ma Koleinu list than having to delete two names because of death.

Thursday, July 17, 2008 updates

The Sons Have Come Home (poem by Zemer, of Tzipiyah.com)

Zahava Bogner’s thoughts on this tragic situation.