Nahum Quotes

Literalism involves a fundamental misconception of the mental processes of biblical man and ignorance of his modes of self-expression. It thus misrepresents the purport of the narrative, obscures the meaningful and enduring in it and destroys its relevancy.

Nahum did not send her to the county asylum, but let her wander about the house as long as she was harmless to herself and others. Even when her expression changed he did nothing. But when the boys grew afraid of her, and Thaddeus nearly fainted at the way she made faces at him, he decided to keep her locked in the attic.

The trees budded prematurely around Nahum’s, and at night they swayed ominously in the wind. Nahum’s second son Thaddeus, a lad of fifteen, swore that they swayed also when there was no wind; but even the gossips would not credit this.

Nahum himself gave the most definite statement of anyone when he said he was disturbed about certain footprints in the snow. They were the usual winter prints of red squirrels, white rabbits, and foxes, but the brooding farmer professed to see something not quite right about their nature and arrangement.

Know this...GOD IS BIGGER, than anything you're going through, trust him...KEEP YOUR TRUST IN HIM" -Gary Linville "I don't pretend to know what love is for everyone, but I can tell you what love is for me; love is knowing all about someone, and still wanting to be with them more than any other person, love is trusting them enough to tell them everything about yourself, including the things you might be ashamed of, love is feeling comfortable and safe with someone, but still getting weak knees when they walk into a room and smile at you." "Prayer makes the darkened cloud withdraw, Prayer climbs the ladder Jacob saw; Gives exercise to faith and love, Brings every blessing from above." Nahum 1:7, "The Lord is good, a strong refuge when trouble comes. He is close to those who trust in him." "be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace." ♥ Ephesians 4:2-3 “the truth is, everyone is going to hurt you. you just got to find the ones worth suffering for.” ― Bob Marley "The thing about the shadows is that they're not all darkness. You need to have light to have shadows" - A. Meredith Walters "Light in the Shadows" (Find You in the Dark #2)

Another misapprehension, shared alike by the followers of "pietism" and "scientism," was that the recognition of the non-unitary origin of the Pentateuch must be destructive of faith and inimical to religion. But is it not to circumscribe the power of God in a most extraordinary manner to assume that the Divine can only work effectively through the medium of a single document, but not through four? Surely God can as well unfold His revelation in successive stages as in a single moment of time.

Although I have afflicted you, . . . I will afflict you no more. (Nahum 1:12) There is a limit to our affliction. God sends it and then removes it. Do you complain, saying, “When will this end?” May we quietly wait and patiently endure the will of the Lord till He comes. Our Father takes away the rod when His purpose in using it is fully accomplished. If the affliction is sent to test us so that our words would glorify God, it will only end once He has caused us to testify to His praise and honor. In fact, we would not want the difficulty to depart until God has removed from us all the honor we can yield to Him. Today things may become “completely calm” (Matt. 8:26). Who knows how soon these raging waves will give way to a sea of glass with seagulls sitting on the gentle swells? After a long ordeal, the threshing tool is on its hook, and the wheat has been gathered into the barn. Before much time has passed, we may be just as happy as we are sorrowful now. It is not difficult for the Lord to turn night into day. He who sends the clouds can just as easily clear the skies. Let us be encouraged—things are better down the road. Let us sing God’s praises in anticipation of things to come. Charles H. Spurgeon “The Lord of the harvest” (Luke 10:2) is not always threshing us. His trials are only for a season, and the showers soon pass. “Weeping may remain for a night, but rejoicing comes in the morning” (Ps. 30:5). “Our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all” (2 Cor. 4:17). Trials do serve their purpose. Even the fact that we face a trial proves there is something very precious to our Lord in us, or else He would not spend so much time and energy on us. Christ would not test us if He did not see the precious metal of faith mingled with the rocky core of our nature, and it is to refine us into purity and beauty that He forces us through the fiery ordeal. Be patient, O sufferer! The result of the Refiner’s fire will more than compensate for our trials, once we see the “eternal glory that far outweighs them all.” Just to hear His commendation, “Well done” (Matt. 25:21); to be honored before the holy angels; to be glorified in Christ, so that I may reflect His glory back to Him—ah! that will be more than enough reward for all my trials. from Tried by Fire Just as the weights of a grandfather clock, or the stabilizers in a ship, are necessary for them to work properly, so are troubles to the soul. The sweetest perfumes are obtained only through tremendous pressure, the fairest flowers grow on the most isolated and snowy peaks, the most beautiful gems are those that have suffered the longest at the jeweler’s wheel, and the most magnificent statues have endured the most blows from the chisel. All of these, however, are subject to God’s law. Nothing happens that has not been appointed with consummate care and foresight. from Daily Devotional Commentary

We moved all around, and I was very worried I would not get a chance to show her what I had planned. Here was the children's home, here was the library, here was a furniture factory of the  kibbutz. I tried to squeeze a few words in about everything we saw, as someone who makes himself known and unversed in the ways of the  kibbutz. The highlight was when I gave her a tour, on the tractor, to the pear groves where I worked. I drove the tractor and she sat beside me, in a very unsafe way, standing on the shaft as she rested on one of the wheel's wings of the tractor. The groves were just a few minutes away from the  kibbutz, on a dirt road that led south towards Acre. I kept explaining to her about new life on the  kibbutz the entire time.

Chapter 17   I was on my way from Rambam Hospital to Tiberias, when the news first came across the radio about a suicide bombing in Tel Aviv. Maggie was still at the Hematology  Ward. I tried to imagine how she felt listening to the news. Surely she was as shocked as everyone else. There in the ward, patients were fighting for their lives, and now in another place in the country, people had perished in seconds. The entire country was horrified by the horrible scenes that aired on all the media. Gradually, the magnitude of the disaster started to be known. A suicide bomber detonated a charge inside a bus, while travelers were going up and down the bus at the heart of the city. It was a few minutes before nine in the morning. There were over twenty dead and dozens wounded. At home, sitting in front of the TV, I watched the extensive coverage. This transition from the sick atmosphere of the hospital in the morning, to the atmosphere of the evening suicide bombing, was depressing. The TV coverage was painful and brought an atmosphere of sadness. I had a feeling that the broadcast intended to clarify to all the people who were still healthy  that their health would not help them. That their end could come just as it did to those victims of the terrorism act on the bus. People did not stop thinking about the event, and the harsh images which were shown repeatedly on the television. Reporters broadcasted from the scene in heightened excitement and everything was filmed live. It seemed that someone was afraid, lest, God forbid, there would be a single person in the country who did not watch this horror. It was appalling. It was one of the first suicide bombings in Israel, and perhaps one of the largest ones.

The LORD is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; and He knows those who trust in Him. – Nahum 1:7

O grant, that in the trials by which we must be daily exercised, we may raise upwards our minds to thee, and never cease to think that thou art near us;

Nahum 1:7 says, The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; and He knows those who trust [take refuge] in Him

Great Babylon” (16:19): though Babylon is not mentioned in Scripture between Genesis 11:9 (Babel is the Hebrew name for Bab-ili, which we render Babylon) and the days of Hezekiah, it had its own position in Hebrew thought. Though it had little political importance between its capture by the Kassites in 1530 BC and its being made the capital of a Chaldean empire in 626 BC, it was the virtually undisputed commercial and religious capital of the Fertile Crescent. So it is the personification, so to speak, for the Bible, of humanity organized for financial profit, and of manmade religion in all its attractive sophistry. These are the two aspects which are dealt with in chapters 17 (religion) and 18 (commerce). If we compare Nahum and Habakkuk, we shall learn something of the different impression created by the pride and cruelty of Assyria and the corruption of human nature which the prophet saw in Babylon.

When Nahum prophesied, Assyria was at the height of its power.

The LORD is good, a refuge in times of trouble. He cares for those who trust in him. NAHUM 1:7

En su opinión qué es lo más grave que pasa en Colombia: ¿la ignorancia o la indiferencia? El encuestado responde: "No sé, ni me interesa

3.5 The Book of the Twelve Hosea identifies Israel’s idolatry as spiritual adultery. Joel connects a locust plague to the curses of the covenant Yahweh made with Israel. Amos calls Israel to seek Yahweh, the roaring lion, and live. Obadiah denounces Edom for violence to Jacob. Jonah sees Nineveh repent in response to the proclamation of coming judgment. Micah beholds the mountains melt when Yahweh treads on them to judge and save. Nahum prophesies the fall of Nineveh. Habakkuk questions Yahweh, and trusts him, regarding the judgment Babylon brings against Israel, then experiences. Zephaniah proclaims that those who seek Yahweh will be hidden on the day of his wrath and delivered, and that he will sing over them. Haggai calls the people to rebuild the temple. Zechariah declares it will be rebuilt not by might or by power but by the Spirit of Yahweh. Malachi assures Israel of Yahweh’s love and points to the day when Elijah will prepare the way for Yahweh to be glorified in a decisive act of salvation through judgment.

Nahum bobbed again. 'My crest is cropped by croaking cranes. I go to drown in doleful dumps, dead-drunk with drearihead.

Et Jésus lui-même commençait d'avoir environ trente ans, étant, comme on l'estimait, fils de Joseph: d'Héli, de Matthat, de Lévi, de Melchi, de Janna, de Joseph, de Mattathie, d'Amos, de Nahum, d'Esli, de Naggé, de Maath, de Mattathie, de Séméi, de Joseph, de Juda, de Johanna, de Rhésa, de Zorobabel, de Salathiel, de Néri, de Melchi, d'Addi, de Cosam, d'Elmodam, d'Er, de José, d'Éliézer, de Jorim, de Matthat, de Lévi, de Siméon, de Juda, de Joseph, de Jonan, d'Éliakim, de Méléa, de Maïnan, de Mattatha, de Nathan, de David, de Jessé, d'Obed, de Booz, de Salmon, de Naasson, d'Aminadab, d'Aram, d'Esrom, de Pharès, de Juda, de Jacob, d'Isaac, d'Abraham, de Thara, de Nachor, de Seruch, de Ragaü, de Phalek, d'Éber, de Sala, de Caïnan, d'Arphaxad, de Sem, de Noé, de Lamech, de Mathusala, d'Énoch, de Jared, de Maléléel, de Caïnan, d'Énos, de Seth, d'Adam, de Dieu.

But what if the soul -the residual energy/information that doesn't register on our electromagnetic energy detectors- doesn't go somewhere else, but just, you know, snuffs out? Ceases to exist? That has always been my own depressing, humdrum assumption regarding death. No can be, says Nahum. Standing in the way is the First Law of Thermodynamics: Energy is neither created nor destroyed. It has to go somewhere..."The question then becomes, Where does it go? The question is not, Is it there? It's there.

The depravity of mankind makes evident the infinite patience of God. "The LORD is slow to anger, and great in power" (Nahum 1:3).

la casualidad sólo existe en la mente de los que no han superado el miedo.

Dios actúa, pero nunca con prisa…

El amanecer llega siempre después de la oscuridad.

Lo que tú estimas como confusión es falta de perspectiva.

Ahora estáis ciegos, pero algún día se hará la luz en vuestras inteligencias. Todo obedece a un orden, incluida la maldad.

Del amor nace lo visible y lo invisible, lo infinito y lo eterno.

La paz prefiere anidar en el silencio.

El silencio es una ventana que se abre directamente sobre Dios, bendito sea su nombre, pero el hombre todavía no la ha abierto.

cada hombre es un mundo diferente, de la misma manera que no hay dos círculos iguales. No hay que hablar a las multitudes. Conviene hablar a cada corazón.

Una cosa es manifestar que la verdad está ahí, en el Altísimo, y otra muy distinta desnudarla delante de los hombres.

»¿Preguntas por la verdad que se sienta a tu lado, junto al dolor? A ésa la espanta uno mismo, en cuanto puede… »¿Preguntas por mis ilusiones y esperanzas? Cada una viaja con una verdad sobre los hombros, todas diferentes…

¿Desde cuándo la Divinidad está sujeta al raciocinio?

Si tienes esperanza, si confías, lo tienes todo.

—¿Por qué os empeñáis en saborear lo amargo cuando podéis disfrutar de lo dulce?

Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. James 4:7 (HCSB) The Lord is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble. Those who know your name trust in you, for you, Lord, have never forsaken those who seek you. Psalms 9:9-10 (NLT) The Lord is good, a refuge in times of trouble. He cares for those who trust in him. Nahum 1:7 (NLT) The Lord will rescue me from every evil attack and will bring me safely to his heavenly kingdom. To him be glory for ever and ever. Amen. 2 Timothy 4:18 (NIV)

Servir bien es tan arduo como saber mandar. Quizá más…

Verdaderamente, el Destino «sabe»…

Nada es azar…

En el adiós se muere un poco.

en la vida conviene escuchar los susurros de la intuición. La lógica y la razón son mensajeros. Sólo eso…

El silencio fue antes que la palabra.

Somos los hombres los que hacemos a Dios a nuestra imagen y semejanza. No al revés…

Una caricia tiene más eficacia que un ejército. Puede mover la voluntad…

El hombre, aunque se empeñe, no está capacitado para comprender a Dios.

«¿Por qué hablar —decía—, si el silencio habla por nosotros…?

Es preferible pasar por esta vida dando, mejor que exigiendo.

La paz es más saludable que la justicia.

—Los sueños son como los deseos. Se cumplen siempre, aunque los hayas olvidado.

El hombre no aprende de sus errores, porque lo que cuenta no es aprender…

El verdadero sabio, amigo mío, es el que dispone de conocimientos, sí, pero sobre sí mismo.

¿Qué sabes de ti mismo?

¿Sabes de dónde vienes, por qué estás aquí y cuál es tu destino?

—El hombre pelea hasta que los cielos le descubren su Destino… ¿A quién le había oído decir algo similar? ¿Al Maestro? —… La verdadera sabiduría,

Cada cual hará bien en ocuparse del agua de su propio pozo.

el que «sabe» no levanta la voz.

Cada cual tiene marcada su hora.

no pretendas sacar agua de dos pozos a la vez.

Los caminos de Ab-bā, el Altísimo, son circulares…

Todo sale de Él y todo regresa a Él. Los círculos son su juego favorito. Arrancamos en el camino sin saber que retornaremos al punto inicial…

According to Nahum Sarna,

Si alguna vez estamos inclinados a enorgullecernos de nuestro conocimiento bíblico, debemos abrir cualquier volumen de John Owen, Thomas Goodwin, o Thomas Brooks, observar cómo se cita algún pasaje desconocido de Nahum seguido de un pasaje conocido de Juan —donde ambos ilustran perfectamente el punto que está planteando el escritor—, luego comparar nuestro conocimiento con el de ellos.

Each time it rained, no matter where I was and how little protective gear I had with me, I tried to respond like the sage Nahum Ish Gamzu in tractate Taanit (21a), who would greet every calamity that befell him with the faith that “this, too, is for the best.

Yet there was no suitable counterpart among the animals for Adam. This was because none of the animals bore the image of God, and an adequate counterpart must bear the image of God just as Adam was made in the image of God. It is claimed that the first unambiguous reference to “Adam” as a personal name does not occur until Genesis 5:1, but the evidence of verse 20 seriously contests that claim, especially as it comes within the context of naming the animals. The phrase lĕʾādām in the Masoretic Text reads as a proper name since it appears without the definite article, which indicates a proper name in Hebrew. Jewish scholar Nahum Sarna comments, “The Hebrew vocalization lĕʾādām makes the word a proper name for the first time, probably because the narrative now speaks of the man as a personality rather than an archetypal human.

12:6. in a vision; in a dream. All prophetic experience in the Tanak is understood to be through visions and dreams—except Moses'. The fifteen books of the Hebrew Bible that are named for prophets either identify the prophets' experiences as visions or else leave the form of the experiences undescribed (Ezek 12:27; 40:2; Hos 12:11; Hab 2:2; Mic 3:6). Many begin by identifying the book's contents as the prophet's vision: "The vision of Isaiah" (Isa 1:1, cf. 2 Chr 32:32); "The vision of Obadiah" (Oba 1); "The book of the vision of Nahum" (Nah 1:1); "The words of Amos ... which he envisioned" (Amos 1:1); "The word of YHWH that came to Micah ... which he envisioned" (Mic 1:1); "The oracle that Habakkuk the prophet envisioned" (Hab 1:1).

Take a bowsy short leave of your nymphs on the shore, And silence their mourning with vows of returning, Though never intending to visit them more.

In my mind I imagined that all communist students were bald, and here was my interlocutor, a handsome guy with long hair. He did not match any of my images of the communists. Perhaps it is a product of the revolution that has just started in Czechoslovakia and was nipped in the bud, I thought to myself.

It was clear to me that the transition from a healthy and active person in the family as Maggie was, to a state of limited and hospitalized patient, was not easy. Maggie was a central and dominant figure in the family, and this stay within the hospital walls, whether it was for testing, treatment, or hospitalization, forced her into a new reality; making her into a marginal and helpless figure.

I remembered how as a result of the Soviet invasion of their country, all of a sudden the media was interested in Shomrat. It went from being an almost unknown Kibbutz, to the center of attraction for the media. All eyes were fixed on it, or rather on those Czechs staying there at the same time. When we first learned of the invasion there was a spontaneous gathering of members of Shomrat Kibbutz. The assembly was in front of the dining room, where members expressed their protest regarding what had happened in Czechoslovakia. The volunteers themselves were scattered in different places on that same day, and some were even on a trip to Jerusalem. Immediately upon publication of the invasion, they began to find each other, to decide on their steps, and cope with the difficult dilemma they faced.

I noticed a Swiss volunteer standing next to a tree and his hand was holding the base of the tree. I saw the volunteer, a young man, who was impatient and occasionally replaced his hands, making sure one was always pressed to the tree trunk. I approached him and asked what he was doing. "I'm guarding the tiger moth," he replied in English, saying 'tiger moth' in clear Hebrew. "Guarding what? What are you talking about?" I asked, puzzled. "Elijah asked me to watch over it, so it won't get away. He went to get something to kill it." I looked at the volunteer and I knew he had fallen victim to one of Elijah's jokes. "I have been in this state more than half an hour now. Please tell Elijah to hurry!” the volunteer begged. Elijah loved to laugh, but he never exaggerated his pranks.

Today's marbles were then called,  ‘blorot'. It is possible that the source of this strange name came from the language spoken by the people of  Tiberias. The  blorot  was an entire world. There was no self-respecting child who did not have them in his possession. There were those who walked proudly with a fixed 'Rasiot'. The Rasiot was a special brand of  blorot,  usually larger, but what was important was that they were trusted by the user, who could rely upon them when shooting. The  blorot was in abundance and appeared in different forms, in different colors, and in different sizes. There were giants and small  blorots, there were those that were made of glass or ceramic. There were transparent  butterflies, some that were decorated in a way that only someone with a wild imagination could design. Every  blora was more beautiful than the other, but most beautiful of all, was no doubt the variety of games you could play with them.

I understood reality. Everyone had gone mad. They found a reason not to go to work. There was snow in the city, there was no transportation, so there was no work. No one thought it possible to walk a little. It seemed I was the only righteous one in the department. I was so embarrassed and angry; I took off my camera and snapped pictures of the gate that remained wrapped with the white snow. These pictures of the gate were etched in my heart. I do not know if I took them because of the beauty of the snow that enveloped the metal arches of the gate, or if I only wanted proof that I, unlike all other Jerusalemites, came to work on this day. Looking back I think it might have been a combination of both.

Every summer, we used to clean and prepare the stoch for the overnight sleep accommodations. I imagined the atmosphere on those roofs - quiet, without noise or the sound of our home appliances. No buzzing fans, no refrigerator’s groans, and no air conditioner rattling. People enjoyed their sleep. I thought it was fun, at least on those nights when I used to sleep at my grandmother's in the transit camp. The overnight stays under the open sky were fascinating. Even there on the roof they must have watched the stars and their movements up in Heaven. I could not hide my smile when I remembered the time I was on my way to see my mother, and  I noticed a woman going up to sunbathe on the roof with only a tiny bikini on her body. It was in the summer months, in one of the adjacent streets. I realized that my mother was right. There were many uses for flat roofs. I remembered, of course, the biblical story of David and Bathsheba. Yes, King David made an intelligent use of the stoch. He was on one when not far away, while on another roof, Bath-Sheba pleasantly washed herself. It turns out that she knew how to take advantage of the roof too.

I could have been in that naive status the same as the volunteer in front of me.

I knew Acre like the back of my hand. I loved every opportunity I had to explore the old city there. The walls reminded me a bit of the walls of Tiberias. Later, I learned that they had a common constructor. I would suggest to everyone who visited me at the  kibbutz, a short tour in Acre or in the immediate vicinity of the  kibbutz. Over time I developed a regular route, which included the Acre and the Bahai Gardens in the south, and up to Nahariya and Rosh Hanikra in the north –  stunning views of western Galilee. Everything was new to me. I was relieved by the presence of my youth members from Tiberias. They were in the picture in front of me, helping me with their advice on how to capture Jacob when he was carrying the Lohamei Hageta'ot Musiem, somewhere over the aqueduct of Shomrat.   ***

In my heart I was hoping that the dead were not buried by their love for a soccer team, too. Where would they bury me?

I tried to explore the likely possibilities of any one of my brothers having the tissue type that would be a match for Maggie. Maggie and I were born in Iraq, maybe we were made of different material. We certainly had a lot in common. I definitely had a good chance of my tissue being a match for Maggie, more than that of my brothers. I immediately ruled out Haim. It seemed he would not fit. He was a redhead, like my father. His chances seemed slim.

She described tirelessly to me how effective the flat roof was, and how it was useful. I found that the stoch was also used as a place to dry food, such as tomatoes. They used to put the tomatoes on the stoch, when they were cut, crushed, and soaked in large bowls. Soaking them on the roof would cause the fluid content to vaporize. What remained of the fruit was preserved in jars for regular use over time. To the tomatoes, which turned  very thick, we used to add a little salt, and it was enough to preserve them for a long time. They layed it out on the stoch and that was it. I laughed when she added a story from her childhood as well, when she used go up on the stoch with her friends and throw pottery off of it, throwing it down to shatter as a mark of the end of summer.

I never understood the place of the workers all that time, which was proudly called, 'The Spring of Prague'. It is quite possible that he was right. It is possible that it was actually the students who managed to drag the country into these reforms. If this is true, I thought to myself, they are also guilty of the Soviet occupation. After all, they caused it.

The more I tried to delve into the issue and understand the mood of their country, the more obscure things became. Our language difficulties may have contributed to this quite a bit.

It was one day in August 1968, when the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia took place and crushed the hopes of his people, for liberty and freedom, it all came to a stop. The  kibbutz was in turmoil. An atmosphere of sadness came over it. It was in solidarity with the volunteers of the Czech people. Members, former Czechoslovakians, tried to encourage them, helping them with the blow they suffered by their country. All of their dreams were shattered. Since the Soviet invasion in their country, Czech volunteers were in shock. Stress and fear gripped them. The members often stayed with them and talked to them in their language.

There was a widespread rumor that there was an attempt to absorb an Arab youth movement into the  kibbutz. It seemed that the attempt failed. Perhaps Muhammad and Nazmi were the remnants of that Arab youth movement. They may have belonged to the Arab youth movement pioneers. The movement succeeded in establishing a number of cores, and one of its training groups was in Shomrat. It was not talked about often in the  kibbutz, but rumors always reached us, and Mohammed and Nazmi had ties to this movement. Muhammad loved to read Arabic poetry and occasionally enjoyed translating the words into Hebrew for us. It always amazed me how he sat, he never needed a chair.

His idea was clear – you should not continue to teach the other person, that would be useless. Nothing positive would come out of it. He just won't understand you. It is the brain that God gave him. It is his mind and he will not change it. His ability to understand is limited to what you see before you. In short, 'Let him be'.

A sense of responsibility accompanied me my whole life. Nothing is more important or more valuable than saving a person's life. When it comes to a family member, it certainly has deeper meaning.

Peter had asked when the legions of heavenly host would join them, and Jesus said, “When you see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of power, coming on the clouds of heaven.” That made everyone more confused. “Coming on the clouds” was a common poetic phrase that indicated an earthly judgment of cities or nations. On earth as it is in heaven. Canaanites had used the term “cloud-rider” of their god, Ba’al. But Ezekiel had used it of Yahweh when he judged Egypt, Nahum used it of Yahweh when he judged Nineveh, and Isaiah had used it when Yahweh judged Edom and even Israel. Simon, being learned in the scrolls from Qumran, asked Jesus if he was referring to the prophecy of Joel that had yet to be fulfilled.   Blow a trumpet in Zion; sound an alarm on my holy mountain! Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble, for the Day of the Lord is coming; it is near, A day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and thick darkness.   Jesus simply said, “Yes,” but offered no more.

God is jealous, and the Lord avenges;     The Lord avenges and is furious.     The Lord will take vengeance on His adversaries,     And He reserves wrath for His enemies. (NAHUM 1:2)

The LORD is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; he knows those who take refuge in him. Nahum 1:7

I was not so clear on how such things can calm a person who is in recovery from a serious illness. While it is clear that in the end everyone must die, I know no one is in a hurry to get there. No one is rushing there. We all want to get to death  as late as possible. "This is the way of the world," continued Yigal quoting, in a not so clear way, what Dr S. said. "Look, Nahum," Yigal said with a frown. "He told her that even Moses died.” Yigal repeated this sentence several times and in different ways, to make sure I understood Dr. S.’s intentions. "He managed to do what others have failed to do before him, he managed to calm her down." Maybe Maggie longed for such words from an expert physician. Perhaps she expected someone from the medical staff would talk to her at eye level and explain things to her in a simple and understandable manner. She did not want to settle for dry statistics that only confused her. It seemed to me that indeed Dr. S. succeeded. He strengthened her impressively  by planting a sense of peace in her.

I remembered how Maggie did not want to give up on seeing the cows of the  kibbutz. I knew she would love to see them, and Altar did not disappoint. He took advantage of our visit to the barn and showed us the distribution of food there. Maggie followed his agile activities closely, as he threw the packs of hay in front of the calves. It seemed that the smell of manure and the aromas of the hay did not deter her. Altar went further, calling a number of calves by their names and also tried to talk with them. Although they did not answer him, or answered with a monotonous mooing, Maggie laughed to high heaven again.

Sometimes I got the impression that the attitude towards her from the medical staff was more positive because of our  presence.

Unfortunately, this insurance did not include the special blood donations, which Maggie needed due to her illness. There was a need to turn to other factors for blood donations, and so Isaac initiated contact with Ezer Mitzion Association, a volunteer organization that worked to help patients and their families. The organization offered help and expressed their willingness to recruit people for blood donations. Isaac settled for modest help. He asked them to send him warm meals during his stay with Maggie at the hospital. For the blood donations he enlisted his colleagues from Israel Electric Corporation. Employees traveled in small groups of up to five people, from Tiberias to Hadassah Hospital, and donated the blood needed. More volunteers were not lacking, among them were neighbors. Everyone chipped in and enlisted as one for the task. They had all the blood units needed, to be delivered to the hospital.

Shomrat Kibbutz was our targeted Kibbutz in our Hashomer Hatzair youth movement. We arrived there with a number of nests of the movement from all over the country, and together, for the first time, we tried to integrate into common life, within the frame of the Nahal's unpaid service.

In the Bone Marrow Transplant  Ward, it looked so different  that such thoughts seemed completely detached from reality. I thought about the nature of the ward and the medical staff employed there. It was a completely different world. I understood my comparison was unfair.

On one occasion, Asher told me that there were visitors who came and were on the verge of collapse, immediately upon seeing her. One of them was my brother Haim. When he went in to see her in one of his first visits at Hadassah Hospital, he was just horrified. He turned as white as a sheet, breathing heavily, and there was a serious concern for his health. Maggie's helpless appearance shocked him. Even before entering the room, when he had to wash his hands with the alcoholic device, he showed the first signs of a tremor. Because he wore the mask on his nose, it was necessary to direct him towards the room. He just lost control of himself. Maggie's appearance without her natural hair, which had fallen out due to chemotherapy, was beyond his ability to take. He could not recognize her, he snuck glances at her, having trouble seeing her as his sister. He did not dare to look at her, and only blurted out unclear words in Asher's direction. He must have tried to calm himself in his own way.

The first signs of new hope spread among the family members. Chapter 22   The Aqueduct at Shomrat was part of the ancient aqueduct that led past the Cabri Springs water to the city of Acre. An impressive part of it went through the avocado groves of the Shomrat and all the way to the Lohamei Hageta'ot Museum, at the neighboring Kibbutz.

Shomrat Kibbutz is in western Galilee and is located on a small hill. North of it there is a small stream that separates it from Lohamei Hageta'ot, and south of it is the temple of Bahá A'lláh, the founder of the Bahá'í religion. About two kilometers separate it from the city of Acre. To the west was Bustan HaGalil and the Mediterranean, to its east, endless farmland.

I remember one day, he brought to my room on the Kibbutz a considerable amount of fruit and suggested that I send some of it to my family in Tiberias. "Teach them to eat avocados," he said, as if he was someone who had been appointed as the marketer of avocado eating in the country. "Trust me, they will love it.” He was not mistaken.

Kibbutz founders were mostly friends from Czechoslovakia, Hungary and Romania, mostly Holocaust survivors and refugees. At the time the founders picked out a small group of people from abroad, among those who came, those that arrived from South America stuck out the most. There were also individual members of the Kibbutz, whose nationality we never knew, so we didn't know what group to put them in. There were also members of young movements in Israel, and then there was us, the Hashomer Hatzair youth movement graduates, staying at the Kibbutz, and trying to fit in with everyone.

We were divided into adoptive families, and there was always someone from the Kibbutz who accompanied us to immediately take care of any problem that might come up. The rooms we got were spacious wooden huts, and we were divided into two in each room. I adapted nicely after learning to switch on the boiler. I felt free in my room and the Kibbutz. I enjoyed my new place. Although I found it hard to work with the boiler, but with time I found a way to get used to the new situation. At Tiberias, heating water was done using electricity and solar panels installed on the roof, and here we heated water with a boiler, at least that is what they called the small device that operated on kerosene. In the tiny shower room there was a kind of boiler which, to me, looked like a threatening missile, and from it was an arrangement of dripping kerosene, that when it was burned, would heat the water. I loved hearing the noise the boiler made when it worked. The noise rose and fell  according to the pace of the kerosene drip. Sometimes, in my mind, I saw it taking off into the sky.

No one expected her to remain hospitalized for so long, that she would enjoy the comforts of the new ward. Maggie thought about the doctor's words and was very upset with them. Within the family, we never understood the concerns of the ward and its conduct. Here at Hadassah, the attitude toward the patient was completely different. No more feelings of strangeness, but a feeling more like being in a comfortable environment, for both patients and their families. We felt that every approach towards Maggie was humane and considerate.