One Family

It could have been any one of us. It could have been our next door neighbors' kids. It could have been any of our brothers, cousins, uncles or fathers. It could have been one of our sisters, aunts or mothers. Those evil terrorists want all of us dead and would stop at nothing to make that happen... 

People are criticizing the three kids, their parents, and our culture because they were hitchhiking and because they live in "the settlements".On March 11th, 2011,in the settlement of Itamar of the West Bank, five members of the same family were murdered in their beds. The victims were the father Ehud (Udi) Fogel, the mother Ruth Fogel, and three of their six children. They were also criticized for living in the settlements...

The Dolphinarium discotheque suicide bombing was a terrorist attack on June 1, 2001 in which a terrorist linked to Hamas, blew himself up outside a discotheque on a beachfront in Tel Aviv, Israel, killing 21 Israeli teenagers and injuring 132. So those teens should NOT have gone to enjoy an evening out, right?And no Jews should have gone out to enjoy a pizza at The Sbarro restaurant in downtown Jerusalem on 9 August 2001, right?15 civilians were killed, including 7 children and a pregnant woman, and 130 wounded by a terrorist. But it's OUR fault for living and breathing in OUR land.

Those three young yeshiva boys are G-d only knows where and meanwhile, the entire country is terrified, sitting glued by computers, radios and televisions, waiting to hear news of their whereabouts. Yeshivas are saying tehillim, hundreds of people gathered by the Kotel last night to pray together, groups of mothers are gathering together to do the same. Those three boys are OUR boys. Every mother and father in this country can think of nothing else. There's no room for ambivalence or indifference when you live here, because every tragedy is your own just as every happy occasion gives you a reason for pure unadulterated joy.

Since I found out about the kidnapping right before Shabbat, I haven't been able to think about much else. Those three young and innocent boys, their families, the savages who kidnapped them...When I look at my beautiful family, it tears my heart to pieces when I think that there are actually evil subhuman beings out there who would kill them if they had the chance.

We are all one family in this tiny country of ours. When one mother sobs tears of fear, all the rest of us are there, bawling right with her.

I pray from the depths of my soul that our boys come back home soon, healthy and whole.

With Love,

Cigal

My Badge of Honour

My stomach is my badge of honor with all its bumps, scars and layers. It is a symbol of my strength, my resilience and my courage to get through some very difficult trials and tribulations, as well as the home that nurtured and grew my three beautiful and healthy children.
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When I was 24 years old, I had a bowel resection for Crohn's Disease.
Years later, I grew a beautiful life in there and was blessed with a precious and healthy baby boy through a natural delivery. When he was only 10 months old, I underwent another surgery for an advanced ectopic pregnancy. Next, another beautiful life grew in there and we were blessed with our precious daughter. Then almost two years ago, we were blessed with another healthy and beautiful baby boy who joined our family via c section. Four pregnancies in less than 3 years...And three major surgeries on my abdomen. A few months after the c section, I discovered that I have a hernia near my naval. It's quite large. Hubby calls it "my peach". The doctors want me to lose the pregnancy belly before doing surgery on the hernia.


I know I can easily pass for pregnant, but I'm not. I've seen some of you park mommies stare down at my belly and wonder. Women have recently made comments like" When are you due?" or "B'sha'a Tova"(all in the right time) or "You get a double portion of cake". To those of you who have made comments, I have made a joke of it. And I know that you meant no harm. But I am strong, resilient and brave. Not every woman would be able to handle these types of comments with the grace and sense of humor that I have. Imagine I had had a bunch of miscarriages/still births and had no live babies at home. Would I want you to comment? Imagine I hadn't told my family yet and you're a stranger or an acquaintance that I see at the park with your kids on occasion? And then imagine I'm not pregnant but struggling to lose weight, be it post pregnancy weight or otherwise? To my friends who observe Torah law, this can be considered Ona'at  Dvarim, causing pain with words. Truth is, you don't need to be a Torah Jew to know when to keep your thoughts to yourself.


I happen to feel proud of my stomach, bumps and all. I tell my kids all the time that my stomach was their home for 9 months each and that for that reason alone, it is beautiful.

With Love,
Cigal