BARBARA'S TCHATZKAHS

TRAUMA SURVIVORS PLEADING FOR THEIR 'EXODUS' Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path. I have sworn, and have confirmed it, to observe Thy righteous ordinances. I am afflicted very much; quicken me, O HaShem, according unto Thy word. Accept, I beseech Thee, the freewill-offerings of my mouth, O HaShem, and teach me Thine ordinances. My soul is continually in my hand; yet have I not forgotten Thy law. The wicked have laid a snare for me; yet went I not astray from Thy precepts. Thy testimonies have I taken as a heritage for ever; for they are the rejoicing of my heart. I have inclined my heart to perform Thy statutes, for ever, at every step. Psalms 119: 105-112 In reading this week's news across the globe, I am always struck by the resiliency of trauma survivors. Victims of political hypocrisy, victims of Middle East terror and even crime victims here in New York. I am also sickened by the majority who turn the other way - think it's not goi...

It was eight years ago, and it was yesterday, and it is today, and it will be tomorrow. The planet has turned once more on the sky-blue day of horror, the day everything changed. So we stop in recognition of that which we remember quietly every day, that which we will go on remembering. For remembering is our forever unfinished business. First, there are the people. Mothers, fathers, sons, daughters, brothers, sisters, family and friends. And many strangers with whom we are bonded, whose names ring in love and fury, whose names make the printed page a field of tombstones. They are murder victims, almost 3,000 strong, killed by 19 foot soldiers of evil, dispatched by fanatics who burned with the desire to attack America. And burn to come again. Our business in that regard, too, is unfinished. That Osama Bin Laden remains at large is an affront. We take comfort in faith that he will get his. So, also, we can only await the end of his Al Qaeda henchmen imprisoned at Guantanamo, most notab...

Advocating for Survivors of Sexual Violence Vicki Polin , MA, ATR, LCPC (Much of this also applies to Jewish survivors of domestic violence, emotional, verbal and mental abuse, financial abuse, terrorism and exploitation. Well worth a read! And kudos to the Awareness Center for their great & much needed work!) excerpts: ...the time has come to bring certain aspects of our work (at the Awareness Center ) out in the open. I want to make a point to mention that what ever it is that those who volunteer for The Awareness Center endure, is minor in comparison to what the survivors who contact our organization are forced to deal with on a daily basis. It is also vitally important to mention that the process of bullying, intimidating and extortion of both survivors and victim advocates is not limited to those in Jewish communities. These sorts of behaviors are conducted by individuals of all faiths -- within their own communities. As many of you know, The Awareness Center has extreme...

Exactly 70 years after the 1938 Nazi pogrom widely seen as the precursor to the Holocaust, German Chancellor Angela Merkel called on Germans not to be indifferent to anti-Semitism. "Indifference is the first step towards endangering essential values," Merkel said during Germany's national memorial ceremony for Kristallnacht - "the Night of Broken Glass" - at the old synagogue in Berlin's Rykestrasse. "Germany needs a climate that encourages moral courage," Merkel said. "Xenophobia, racism and anti-Semitism must never be given an opportunity in Europe again." Advertisement "It is a mistake to think it doesn't affect you when your neighbors are affected," Merkel added. "This mistake just leads us further and further into evil." On November 9, 1938, massive riots began across Germany and Austria. More than 91 Jews were killed, more than 1,000 synagogues were damaged and 7,500 Jewish businesses were ransacked and loot...

As a survivor of sexual, emotional & psychological abuse - I am posting this in the hopes that everyone will read and forward to their Rabbis - Thank you. Barbara Message from The Awareness Center: CALL TO ACTION: Request to all Rabbis on behalf of Sexual Violence Awareness Month Please forward the following message to every rabbi you know! Each week many of our rabbis send out weekly messages and prayers to their congregants. Considering April is Sexual Violence Awareness Month and also a month that represents freedom to the Jewish people, The Awareness Center is asking that all rabbis to send messages of healing, empowerment and growth to those who are who are suffering the life long effects of surviving sexual violence. All survivors of sex crimes are veterans of a war. The messages sent out should be about honoring survivors as if they were hero's of a horrendous war battle. The only true victims are those who lost their lives as a results of the wounds inflicted upon them...

FELLOW BLOGGERS: HELP REMEMBER 9/11! Last year Project 2996 helped bloggers across the world remember individuals killed in the horrible actions of terrorists on 9/11/01. This year, D.C. Roe who ran last year's program, has had some personal issues that kept him from devoting his time to the project. BUT - he did put up a website for those who'd like to make this happen again this year. CLICK HERE The best way to help is to sign up to tribute a victim of the attacks. Go visit the current list, and select a name. Then research the life of your victim. For most, this step won't be as difficult as you think--there's a lot of public information available. Search their name and 9/11. Then, on September 11 post your tribute to your own blog or website. But most important is to remember their lives. Their deaths are common knowledge, but we shouldn't let it define who they were. Let the world know we haven't forgotten. And please feel free to pass this on! WHEN LOVE...

ROMPER BOMPER STOMPER BOOM! When I was little ( or as I tell my kids, 'back when dinosaurs were still roaming the Earth ') I used to watch a show on our family's black & white set ( it was one of those tvs put in a HUGE wooden cabinet ) called ROMPER ROOM. ROMPER ROOM was locally filmed but had a nationwide theme. That is, every host of Romper Room and its shows were local. If you went to Chicago, St. Louis, Tucson, Bowie, Walla Walla or wherever, they had their Romper Room. I'd wait for host to pull out the "magic mirror" and say "I see Barbara..." I never heard any unusual names. But this was the 50s and 60s. "All of the hosts, many former kindergarten teachers, spent the half-hour reading from books to the seven or eight kids on the set, teaching the alphabet, manners and values in a gentle way." But Palestinian terrorists think nothing of using their own progeny as bombs. Their magic mirror is a ...

WHY DID SHE HAVE TO DIE? I've been a member of this wonderful community on LiveJournal for a couple years now and I wanted to share it with everyone. Click HERE for more on All4Israel This community is dedicated to the memory of Shalhevet Techiya Pass & the hundreds of other victims of terror in Israel. Shalhevet was a beautiful 10-month old baby who lived with her family in the holy city of Hebron. One evening her parents were home preparing to take baby Shalhevet to visit her grandparents. Sadly, the visit would never occur. Shalhevet was placed in a stroller inches from her father while her mother finished packing for the trip in another room. While the family prepared for what they thought would be a happy family outing a Palestinian sniper caught baby Shalhevet in the crosshairs of his high-powered rifle. He fired a bullet which tore through Shalhevet's tiny skull. Shalhevet's father was shot in the leg. IDF soldiers & paramedics made valiant efforts to save h...