Dear Friends,

Shavua Tov! Hodesh Tov!

First of all, I want to wish you a good month. Marcheshvan always brings rain and blessings to Israel. From Haifa we send our blessings to you along with all the people of Israel.

Yesterday we read Parashat "Noah". Some of our sages (for example Rabbi Yehuda in Midrash Genesis Raba 30:9 and Rabbi's commentary on the sidrah) consider Noah as a "mediocre" person who wanted to save himself and his family. Compared to Abraham, Moses or Shmuel he was not considered to be a righteous man.

In contrast, Rabbi Nechemia and many others have a different view. They see Noah as a very righteous man even who maintained his values even in a generation of evil people.

In my opinion Noah symbolizes optimism, that tomorrow can be better and that we can have a brighter future, without natural disasters and without war between people. For the ancient Babylonians, the rainbow in the sky is Mardoch's weapon (his arc). For our ancestors in the Bible, the rainbow (keshet) symbolizes the covenant between God and humanity, the promise that there will be no more destruction. We at Or Hadash believe in this optimistic approach, according to which we can bring a better future for our children.

We dedicate this year, 5768, to "Ecology and Judaism". This week is devoted to the study the importance of Water in Jewish Tradition. Tonight we will have a class and a lecture about the Torah seen as living water. For us in Israel, water is essential to our survival.

Last Kabalat Shabbat we welcomed a delegation of 40 Christians who arrived from Germany as part of a ten-year coexistence project between Or Hadash and the city of Falkensee (formerly East Germany, close to Berlin). As you know, many members of my family have been murdered in the Holocaust and it was not easy at all for me to travel to Germany in August, but to my surprise I discovered that today there are many Germans who are good people like us and strive for a better future. The beginning of a friendship was established between us.

I am attaching a picture from Simchat Torah, symbolizing the conclusion of 22 prayers that have taken place at Or Hadash over the month of Tishrei (High Holidays and Shabatot). Over 3,000 have participated in these prayers.
Wishing you and your family a good week and a good month Marcheshvan of peace and health.

From Haifa,
Edgar