Daniel Lubetzky

Ha’aretz – November 23, 2014 

Former Mossad Chief: For the First Time, I Fear for the Future of Zionism

By Shabtai Shavit
From the beginning of Zionism in the late 19th century, the Jewish nation in the Land of Israel has been growing stronger in terms of demography and territory, despite the ongoing conflict with the Palestinians. We have succeeded in doing so because we have acted with wisdom and stratagem rather than engaging in a foolish attempt to convince our foes that we were in the right.

Today, for the first time since I began forming my own opinions, I am truly concerned about the future of the Zionist project. I am concerned about the critical mass of the threats against us on the one hand, and the government’s blindness and political and strategic paralysis on the other. Although the State of Israel is dependent upon the United States, the relationship between the two countries has reached an unprecedented low point. Europe, our biggest market, has grown tired of us and is heading toward imposing sanctions on us. For China, Israel is an attractive high-tech project, and we are selling them our national assets for the sake of profit. Russia is gradually turning against us and supporting and assisting our enemies.

Anti-Semitism and hatred of Israel have reached dimensions unknown since before World War II. Our public diplomacy and public relations have failed dismally, while those of the Palestinians have garnered many important accomplishments in the world. University campuses in the West, particularly in the U.S., are hothouses for the future leadership of their countries. We are losing the fight for support for Israel in the academic world. An increasing number of Jewish students are turning away from Israel. The global BDS movement (boycott, divestment, sanctions) against Israel, which works for Israel’s delegitimization, has grown, and quite a few Jews are members.

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I was wondering about this question – how did it come to pass that humans divided an earth’s day into segments of 24 hours, each with 60 minutes and 60 seconds?

My initial theory was (and to some degree still is) that some astronomers or wise people thousands of years ago first started with a unit of a “second” which perhaps was equivalent to an average heartbeat (60 heartbeats in a minute), or the time it took them to say a particular word (MilUno, MilDos, MilTres).  From there they calculated mathematically how to divide the day into two blocks – day and night – and came up with a beautiful mathematical way to fit sixty seconds into one minute, and sixty minutes into an hour, and 24 hours (or 12*2 hours) into a full day.  

I then did some research and learned some great theories (or may be facts?) about how Egyptians and others first came up with this beautiful system that we take for granted.

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/experts-time-division-days-hours-minutes/

http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2011/11/15/3364432.htm

http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1mdcdu/how_did_24_hours_containing_60_minutes_each_end

Part of the insights include that the “duodecimal” system is mathematically more beautiful to work with than the decimal one, because the number twelve divides much more cleanly and wholly into some of its components – can divide by one, two, three, four, and six – and end up with wholes, as opposed to 10, which only divides into 1, 2, and 5.  Similarly the sexagesimal system has a beautiful history and characteristics.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_mathematical_notation

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sexagesimal

It is also fascinating that the French at one point after their revolution tried to change the system and go for decimal time!

http://io9.com/5886129/the-short-strange-history-of-decimal-time

Excited for the Zeel roll out in California and Florida!!

“Never be afraid to sit awhile and think. ”
—Lorraine Hansberry

“We must think differently, look at things in a different way.
Peace requires a world of new concepts, new definitions.”
-Yitzhak Rabin

Dr. Seuss gave the following commencement address at Lake Forest College Lake Forest, Illinois on June 4, 1977. Bob Bernstein recently shared this with me as generally good advice for life.

My Uncle Terwilliger on the Art of Eating Popovers

My uncle ordered popovers

from the restaurant’s bill of fare.
And, when they were served,
he regarded them
with a penetrating stare
Then he spoke great Words of Wisdom
as he sat there on that chair:
“To eat these things,”
said my uncle,
“you must exercise great care.
You may swallow down what’s solid
BUT
you must spit out the air!”

And
as you partake of the world’s bill of fare,
that’s darned good advice to follow.
Do a lot of spitting out the hot air.
And be careful what you swallow.

This article from David Horovitz is worth reading to remind us of the essence of the problem with Hamas. Horovitz has written equally compelling articles highlighting why President Abbas is heroic and worthy of support by the International community, and that it is a travesty that Netanyahu has weakened Abbas and strengthened Hamas. This article – and Horovitz – does not condone the occupation. That must end and Palestinians deserve a State with freedom, equality and mutual respect and recognition with Israel. But none of that would quell Hamas’s thirst to destroy all of Israel.

“Watch your thoughts, they become words. Watch your words, they become your actions. Watch your actions, they become habits. Watch your habits, they become character. Watch your character, it becomes your destiny.” — Frank Outlaw

This piece about Shimon Peres made me shed many tears – what a historic and beautiful figure.

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My sister shared this excerpt that I found deeply introspective and insightful, on the sensory varieties of pain.

“And at some point you realize that there are more flavors of pain than coffee. There’s the little empty pain of leaving something behind ‒ graduating, taking the next step forward, walking out of something familiar and safe into the unknown. There’s the big, whirling pain of life upending all of your plans and expectations. There’s the sharp little pains of failure, and the more obscure aches of successes that didn’t give you what you thought they would. There are the vicious, stabbing pains of hopes being torn up. The sweet little pains of finding others, giving them your love, and taking joy in their life as they grow and learn. There’s the steady pain of empathy that you shrug off so you can stand beside a wounded friend and help them bear their burdens.
And if you are very, very lucky, there are a few blazing hot little pains you feel when you realize that you are standing in a moment of utter perfection, an instant of triumph, or happiness, or mirth which at the same time cannot possibly last ‒ and yet will remain with you for life.

Everyone is down on pain, because they forget something important about it: Pain is for the living. Only the dead don’t feel it.”
—    Jim Butcher, White Night