2008 Hurricane Season Over... Officially!

The Sun-Sentinel did it's annual hurricane season over article this morning and put out a great article with great images of the hurricane season and how Florida was pretty much spared. They do a great job. The Herald writers do also but they often are not given the space they deserve to write the articles they can and they are often buried somewhere. The Herald did do a story.. every paper along the Hurricane Coast did a story I am sure.

November 30th.. the end of the road..the end of the season.. all over unless some stray out of season storm erratically forms somewhere..which has happened a few times. But..the fat lady has sung across the land and the newspapers and bloggers are all a buzz... the Hurricane Season is over.

Texas got slammed. Florida lucked out.

Cuba and Haiti had one of their worst seasons ever and it will take years to rebuild. The loss of life in the Caribbean rivals those years way back when hurricanes wiped out Jamaica and other places.

Read the article..

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/services/newspaper/printedition/sunday/
nationworld/sfl-flbseason1130sbnov30,0,7967480.story

And, may I say
Ken Kaye
does one of the best jobs
everyday
covering weather in South Florida..

He's good and I'm a fan :)

So..that's it for today as I have to go to a memorial service and I have to
visit with out of town friends who are still here and I have a Dolphin Game
to watch and somewhere, somehow I will try and make some sense of things
that you cannot make sense of but that just need to be dealt with and
never forgotten... a reminder of how terrorists in NY or Mumbai can
rock our world and how we must not let them get away with it.

If you are here for just the weather you can stop reading.. if you wish read on
as I am posting a beautiful letter by a friend and the link to one of many
places where you can donate money to help rebuild in Mombai.

A site to give money to rebuild in areas that were hit by hurricanes is posted as well. www.southernliving.com/hurricanerelief

Besos Bobbi



B”H

Dear Friends,

It is with a deep sense of shock and grief that we heard yesterday the terrible news: Rabbi Gabi and Rivky Holtzberg, dedicated directors of Chabad of Mumbai, were among those brutally murdered in the attack on the Mumbai Chabad House.

Our hearts and prayers go out to all the innocent victims and their families of the brutal attacks throughout Mumbai, India. But this one strikes way too close to home.

Their son, Moshe, turned two years old Friday; a day on which he himself was miraculously rescued from the Chabad House by the Chabad House cook, a day which he will mark for the rest of his life as the Yahrtzeit of both of his parents.

Friday, Moshe lost his parents. Friday, Layah and I - and the 4,000+ other couples around the world who serve as part of the family of the Rebbe's Shluchim - lost a brother and sister. On Friday, the Jewish people lost one of its finest and most precious treasures.

Over the past five years, every Friday night, the Shabbat candles lit by the Rebbitzen shone brightly throughout Mumbai. Tonight these lights have been replaced by blood stains and wary void of these very special people.

In dark times like these, where there seems to be no answers to our legitimate questions, we were taught by our dear Rebbe, that our only option is to increase in bringing light to our world.

Today we ask of ourselves, and of each and every one of you, to emulate the shining example of Gabi and Rivky. To dedicate our lives a little bit more to goodness and kindness, to true and boundless love of our fellows. To take on one additional Mitzvah, so that each and every one of us, in our own way, create a personal Chabad House - a personal space of love and holiness.

We've been repeatedly asked: What can we do?

The Jewish people fight brutality not only with the might of justice but also with the fulfillment of MITZVOT. The lives of this rabbi and his wife were dedicated to Jewish deeds of kindness. Let us do the mitzvah of teffilin and Shabbat candles in their memory:

Men, (and boys over the age of 13) are asked to please put on Tefillin. If you have your own pair, great. If not, it will be my pleasure to help you. You can either come by the library any day during the week or I can try to come to your home or office. Just call me before. rabbi@chabadchayil.org or (305) 770-1919. if you are already doing this Mitzvah on a regular basis, please help someone who isn't yet.

Women, light the Shabbat candles. If you don't have your own or need help, we will be more than happy to help. We will give you candles free of charge.

If you would like to participate in helping baby Holtzberg or rebuilding Chabad in Mumbai please visit www.ChabadChayil.org/ChabadMumbai