The title of this post is in part - my little homage to Mary Travers who passed away last week. For those who don’t know her - she is ’Mary’ of the famed folk singing trio ‘Peter, Paul, and Mary’ who almost single handedly made folk music a part of mainstream American culture. The song to which the title refers is the hit song they recorded back in 1969. If I am not mistaken it was their last big hit.
It was also kind of the theme song of the engagement period (June through November of ‘69) for my wife and me. She lived in Detroit. I lived in Chicago. We saw each other quite a bit over the course that summer period and it seems we were forever saying goodbye at an airport at the end of a visit.
But that’s not the only reason for that title. My wife and I are about to say goodbye to Chicago to be ‘Oleh Regel’ for a three week period. This morning we are flying out of Chicago to Newark where we will be catching an El Al flight to Israel for Sukkos (and Yom Kippur). I will once again be staying in Ramat Bet Shemesh with my son and his family. I will be attending daily prayer services at Congregation Maasas Mordechai. If you live in this town - come over and say hi.
I am taking this opportunity to thank all of my readers and commenters for making this blog the continually growing success that it is. My hope is that I help provoke thought about the Jewish issues of our day. Based on the many comments I receive – all of which are moderated – I think I have succeeded to some extent. Not only do I believe that I have I provoked thought - I have also learned a lot from many of the commenters here as well. It has - over these few years - been quite an educational tool for me. And I hope for my readers as well. Ken Yirbu.
My Internet access in Israel will be limited. My goal is to continue posting as much as possible – even every day if I can. But I am simply not sure I will be able to. I know that I will find a way to do that at least some of that time.
I am considering opening up the comments section of this blog – leaving it un-moderated for this three week holiday period so as not unduly prolong the waiting time between posting a comment and its actual appearance because of my limited access. I am not sure about it yet and will decide over the course of the day - probably before my flight from Newark this afternoon.
Should I do so I ask that the rules posted in the margin to the left be followed. The basic comment etiquette I request is respectful debate. Please! …no ‘swearing’ and no flaming. If I do open it up - I will still monitor the comments as they appear and delete or modify offending comments as I see fit. If I see it getting out of hand I will immediately return to the moderation mode.
My next post will be from the Holy Land.
