A Happy Day And A Sad One

Today was a very happy day for me.

1] It was the day we commemorate the fact that we have Yerushalayim in our hands. I love Yerushalayim and consider myself indescribably fortunate to live in the Old City in G-d's own home, "Baruch Hashem mitzion Shochein Yerushalayim" - He lives HERE. Wow! He performed miracles so that we could return. We never forgot Yerushalayim so Yerushalayim never forgot us. "Racheim Al tzion kee hee BEIS CHAYEINU" - Yerushalayim is our LIFE and we merited returning. What a simcha!

2] I finished an article I was writing on the topic of zechiras amalek [and posted on YUTORAH].

3] I gave shiurim to both Yeshiva guys and seminary girls.

4] I learned a number of pages in Chezkas Habattim.

5] I attended the bris of a good friend.

And many many more good things. I davened, ate, slept, laughed, made others laugh, took a short blessed nap, played soccer with my son [in my living room:)] and the list goes on.

Today was a VERY sad day.

It is not my custom to be close to anyone's wife but my own, but I was extremely fond of Mrs. Korn. Every interaction we ever had was enjoyable. She was a very, very special person. What is far, far sadder than my own loss is thinking about her husband who is now alone and her children who are now orphans. I B"H still have a mother [for many many years to come in good health!!] so I don't really know what it is like to lose one but I did once have a dream about it. I can only say that in all of my years of dreaming of Nazis, Arabs and other "pleasant" dreams [I have had countless] I have never let out such blood curdling screams as the ones I let out in that dream.

May the Korn family and all of us know no more sadness and we should soon see a fulfillment of the promise of our Prophets that Hashem will remove the curse of death from our midst and wipe the tears off our faces.