Greetings from the Goyim

"Goy" [plural: goyim, adjective: goyishe] is the standard Hebrew term for non-Jew. Literally it is the Hebrew for "nation." Spoken aloud with a disgusted inflection, it's pejorative. For those of you who keep track of my postings, this may seem like a promising sign that I shall be updating at my previous rate. And you would be correct. I have found a new motivation for writing frequently again . . . with my new surroundings. I'm studying this semester at an extension campus of my Southern California college in Israel. For 15 weeks I have the great privilege to study overseas in Eretz Yisrael (Land of Israel). It has been an odyssey, one that initially finds me under the weather with a head cold. The new base of operations for my education is Yad HaShmonah (or HaShemona or Hashemonah or Hashmonah . . .), my new digs in Israel. The name means "Memorial to the Eight." A fascinating history behind the name is that the settlement owes its existence to Finnish beleivers who named their moshav after eight Jews of Austrian citizenship who smuggled themselves into Finland. The Nazis made an ultimatum to the Finnish government to hand over all of their indigineous Jews. The Finns refused to compromise the welfare of any native citizen, but instead handed over these eight Jews from Austria who were illegal aliens in Finland. Only one survived the Holocaust.

The settlement is believed to be very close to the biblical location of the Camp of Dan in Judges 18:12. Some local points of interest are the neighboring village of Neve Ilan, the Elvis Inn (what can I say, Israel is a land graced by many kings), and the Arab settlement of Abu Ghosh.