If Only For A Second

For every cancer patient one of the things that change in their lives is the ability to be carefree and spontaneous.  For 20 cancer patients in France the Mimi Foundation gave them a moment of joy.

A French cancer charity found a remarkable - and hilarious - way for sufferers to forget their illness.

The Mimi Foundation gave 20 people with the disease flamboyant makeovers. By placing a photographer behind a two-way mirror they asked the makeover subjects to close their eyes and then captured their reactions when they opened them and first saw their new look. The results are both inspiring and joyous.


Click here if the video fails to load.

The foundation said it was inspired by a remark from a cancer sufferer who was asked what they missed from the time they were cancer-free (and replied), "You know what I miss the most? Being carefree."

SOURCE

I thought it was wonderful to look at their expressions.  Funny?  Yes.  But wonderful too.

For The People Of Tornado Devistated Oklahoma

While many people and groups start to collect money for the victims of Moore, Oklahoma, members of the Jewish community in the United States (and Worldwide) have already sent out the first of many packages of food aid for the area.

The National Council of Young Israel teamed with Agri Star Meat & Poultry LLC and the Masbia organization to facilitate the delivery of 20,000 pounds of food to tornado victims in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. In the aftermath of the tornado that tore apart families, leveled neighborhoods and devastated entire communities, there is a dire need for relief and supplies, including fresh food.

Upon recognizing the need for food for the victims, Agri Star Meat & Poultry quickly made arrangements to prepare 20,000 pounds of food for delivery to the Chabad Community Center for Jewish Life and Learning in Oklahoma City, OK. The Chabad Community Center will arrange to distribute the food to the communities in Oklahoma in need of assistance.

Masbia, which provides food relief services in New York City, assumed the responsibility of raising the funds necessary to pay for the food to be trucked from the Agri Star facility in Postville, Iowa to Oklahoma.

Upon learning of the need for funds, the National Council of Young Israel, which worked together with Masbia in the wake of Hurricane Sandy, immediately offered to cover the shipping costs so the food could get to Oklahoma as soon as possible.

New York State Assemblyman Phil Goldfeder, whose district was one of the hardest hit areas during Hurricane Sandy, traveled to Oklahoma to offer his assistance to the victims of the tornado. Assemblyman Goldfeder, who worked closely with the National Council of Young Israel after Hurricane Sandy, will work together with the Chabad Community Center and personally supervise the transfer of the food to those in need.

"The tornado that swept through the Oklahoma City area created a situation whereby people suddenly found themselves without even the basic necessities of daily living," said Chaim Leibtag, Chief Operating Officer of the National Council of Young Israel. "After many of us struggled to cope in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, we know first-hand how critical it is to ensure that people get the relief they need as quickly as possible. The National Council of Young Israel is pleased to have had the opportunity to play a role in helping the countless people whose lives were turned upside down by the deadly tornado."

"When given the opportunity to help those in desperate need of assistance, the National Council of Young Israel immediately answered the call," said Farley Weiss, President of the National Council of Young Israel. "As the people of Oklahoma begin picking up the pieces and contemplate rebuilding their homes and communities, we understand how vital it is that they get the support and relief that they need."

"Food is most essential to victims of disaster," said Alexander Rappaport, the founder of Masbia. "Food cannot bring back any loses, but it helps them keep it together. We found during our on the ground Sandy relief work, the victims need food, the first-responders need food, the volunteers need food. You never can forget the smile on their faces when you arrive with food."

"Our hearts pour out to families in Oklahoma," said Yaakov Labowitz, VP of Sales, Agri Star Meat & Poultry, LLC. "We recognize that in times of crisis, neighbor helping neighbor, often provides the most comfort, and a solid foundation for rebuilding. We have therefore partnered with the local Chabad Community Center to insure that a warm meal is available to those in need...that families have one less concern, as they set about recovery."

Source

One of the first things the survivors will need is food and water. Shelter and other amenities are secondary.  While the Red Cross and Salvation Army were first on the scene minutes after the all clear, it is also clear that members of many religious organizations are also coming to the victims aid.

Here are a few groups that are aiding the victims of Moore, Oklahoma:

Salvation Army
National Council of Young Israel
Masbia
Chabad


And send a thank you to Agri Star Meat & Poultry.  For their generosity in this endeavour.

Henrietta Hughes Gets Her House Thanks to a Republican

By Maggie M. Thornton

Henrietta Hughes asked President Obama for a house and she got it. The dream is coming true and the joke is on us "non-believers."

During the presidential campaign, we listened as his supporters trilled that Obama would buy their gasoline and pay for their apartment. We smiled knowingly - we knew how disappointed they would be.

But dang! the man is doing exactly that. Or to be accurate, a Republican is making this dream come true.

Henrietta Hughes told the President that she had been living in a vehicle with her son for over a year. They needed their own kitchen and bathroom. She asked the President to "please help me."

The destitute Ms. Hughes, dressed nicely in black with a scarf around her neck and fashionable eye glasses, was on the front row in the coveted town hall forum.

I have an urgent need, unemployment and homelessness, a very small vehicle for my family and I to live in. The housing authority has two years' waiting lists, and we need something more than the vehicle and the parks to go to. We need our own kitchen and our own bathroom. Please help.

Henrietta Hughes is getting her house. Florida Republican State Representative Nick Thompson and his wife Chene Thompson offered her a house in La Belle, about a two hour drive from where the town hall was held in Ft. Myers, FL. I'm reading that the home is offered rent free for as long as she needs it.

Where is the charity from Democrats?

In the first video below, you'll see the house the Thompson's have offered to Ms. Hughes. In the second you'll see an interview with Hughes after the town hall meeting with a local tv station.

Mi k'amcha Yisrael?

Who is like your nation, Israel? The one nation on earth whose God went out to redeem a people for himself, and to make a name for yourself, and to perform great and awesome wonders by driving out nations from before your people, whom you redeemed from Egypt?

1 Chronicles 17:21

A question that became a statement in Be'er Sheva. A statement made by a woman when volunteers from Yad Eliezer arrived at the hospital with packages for the wounded IDF soldiers. But that isn't the whole story. Here is some of it:

Care Packages to Gaza

by Simon Wolf

Everyone here in Israel is doing whatever they can to help. Some of my neighbors are hosting families from the south who had to flee. For my part I called the Yad Eliezer to organization to see how I could help. One of their directors, Yossi Kaufman, told me they were putting together 2,500 care packages -- food, clothes and books -- to deliver to the soldiers, and offered me the opportunity to join a group traveling down to the Gaza front to distribute the packages. I told him, "Count me in."




The next day we drove south and came to a military base outside of Be'er Sheva, from where they control all the logistical aspects of the war. We were met by the commanders of the base who were very moved by the generosity of the donors and the volunteers. Then we went to work unloading the 2,500 packages into a gym from which the logistical engineers ensured they would reach the front lines. It was incredible to see the looks on the faces of the cadets who helped us unload the truck. They could not believe that people cared so much to bring what seemed to be an endless supply of packages.

...reached Be'eri, just a few hundred yards from the Gaza Strip. It's a closed military zone and the military police were not willing to let us enter the area. After much discussion and haggling, we were finally allowed 10 minutes in the area -- by foot -- to distribute our packages to the soldiers, and on condition that we took no photos while we were there.



Upon first entering the area, we were treated to a surreal scene: Some Breslover Chassidim had a van equipped with speakers on its roof blasting music, and the Chassidim were dancing with the soldiers. Only in Israel.

For our part, we began to distribute the packages to the soldiers who were resting before they had to reenter the war zone. We saw APC's coming out of Gaza with helmeted and sweating soldiers who were so excited to be greeted by our packages. The soldiers could not believe their eyes, and when we explained that we'd come to thank them for their efforts and boost their morale, they in turn thanked us profusely. They said it meant so much to them that people were actually thinking of them and were willing to make the trip out to deliver packages.

We ended up staying in the area for nearly 40 minutes, and the military police even allowed us to take pictures.

Our next stop was the Soroka Hospital in Be'er Sheva, the largest hospital in the south of Israel and the area's only trauma center. We came to the hospital with more care packages to distribute to the wounded soldiers. On the way, we passed the blood donor center where we saw an amazing scene of people lined up to donate blood to help all the wounded soldiers and civilians.



...One woman began to cry while explaining to another woman what was transpiring. She was not religious, but she exclaimed over and over again, "Mi k'amcha Yisrael -- Who is like your nation, Israel." Her words are still reverberating through my head.

We visited a room that had injured soldiers. One had shrapnel wounds to his leg, another had been hit by a bullet, and another had suffered mortar injuries. We met another soldier sitting with his parents and family. His arm was in a sling, and told us that his platoon had been hit by a Hamas mortar shell, which had shattered the bones in his arm and currently left him with no ability to move his hand. The soldier had just undergone surgery and he hoped to regain use of his hand -- after a long recovery period including months, if not years, of therapy.

I haven't given you the whole story, for I want you to read it for yourself here. A spirit has entered Israel with the whole nation working hard for their sons and daughters in the IDF. They will go the extra mile to give their boys in uniform a care package. You can help to. If you are able to afford it, donate a few dollars to Yad Eliezer. Just $20 will send an IDF soldier a care package.

If you would like to send something to an IDF soldier but cannot afford it at this time just click on this logo:


And a personal message from you with a box of chocolates will be sent to an IDF soldier free of charge.

Mi K'amcha Yisrael?

America:

Hat tip to Crusader Rabbit and The Midnight Sun



It is funny that I don't see Algeria, Indonesia, Iran, Kuwait, Libya, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, and Venezuela on this list. Not even close to it. I wonder why?