רְאוּבֵן֙ בְּכֹ֣רִי: Hoshea

星期二

B'nei Joséa

"In the beginning the L-rd spoke to Joséa: 'Go, take yourself a wife of harlotry and children of harlotry, for the land goes astray from following the L-rd.' And he went and took Gomer (meaning "standing for the whole family") bat Divlaim (meaning "daughter of Figs"), and she conceived and bore him a son. And the L-rd said to him: 'Name him Yizre'el, for, in a short time, I will visit the blood of Yizre'el (meaning "G-d soweth scattered ones": an ancient Israeli city and fortress located within the boundaries of Shevet Yissakhar) upon Beis Yehu, and I will terminate the kingdom of Beis Yisra'el. And it shall come to pass on that day that I will break the bow of Yisra'el in the Valley of Yizre'el.' And she conceived again and bore a daughter, and He said to him: 'Name her Lo-ruhamah, for I will not continue to grant clemency to Beis Yisra'el, but I will mete out their portion to them. But to Beis Judea will I grant clemency, and I will save them by the Lord their G-d, but I will not save them with the bow, with the sword, with war, with steeds, or with riders.' And she weaned Lo-ruhamah, and she conceived and bore a son. And He said: 'Name him Lo-ammi, for you are not My people, and I will not be yours.'" [Josea 1:2-9]

B'nei Gil(e)ad

"Yifshah ben Gil(e)ad was a mighty warrior. His father was Gil(e)ad; his mother was a prostitute. Gil(e)ad's wife also bore him sons, and when they were grown up, they drove Yifshah away. 'You are not going to get any inheritance in our family,' they said, 'because you are the son of another woman.' So Yifshah fled from his brothers and settled in Erez Tov, where a gang of scoundrels gathered around him and followed him.

Some time later, when Ammonim were fighting against Yisra'el, the elders of Gil(e)ad went to Yifshah from Erez Tov. 'Come,' they said, 'be our commander, so we can fight Ammonim'" (Shoftim 11:1-6).

星期三

Siamese Gate

"A hospital located in southwestern China have just announced the birth of conjoined twin girls with a shared body and two heads." On the surface, a strange anomaly vulnerable to media mockery, but not really something to be taken haphazardly, if you seriously consider historical significance of newborns insightful for Generation Slumdogeater, as Hoshea notes.

"According to Jewish tradition, the She'China (שכינה) (Feminine Divine Presence) formerly appeared through this dual portal, and will appear again when M@shiakh comes (Yechezkel 44:1–3) and a new gate is installed (the current one was sealed by an Ottoman Sultan, who sought to prevent the arrival at the Doble Gate of a Messiah of the tribe of Y'hudah and/or a Messiah of the tribe of Yosef); that is why Jews pray for mercy at this location. Hence the name Sha'ar Ha'Rachamim (שער הרחמים), The Gate of Mercy (or Mercies, plural). To be more precise, the north-east part is The Gate of Mercy, while the south-east is The Gate of Repentance or Sha'ar Ha'T'shuvah. In Arabic, they are known together as the Gate of Eternal Life. In Christianity, it is known as the Golden Gate. In ancient times, the gate was known as the Beautiful Gate. Christian and Muslim graves outline the front of the entrance. Jewish graves are further away, so as to maintain a level of Kohanim purification; most Jewish graves are found on Har Ha'Zeitim (The Mount of Olives), to the east of Har Ha'Bayit (The Temple Mount)."

"The gate is located in the middle of the eastern side of Har Ha'Bayit. It is one of the few sealed gates in Yerushalayim, along with the Huldah Gates, and a small Biblical-era postern located several stories above ground on the southern side of the eastern wall."

"I would like to thank the Chinese people for their hospitality and I am pleased to welcome you to this conference. Your interest in The Philippine economy goes to show that my people's newfound optimism spills over to our neighbors, here, in China. These projects are examples of the enthusiasm that results from partnerships between China and The Philippines. We want even more of our people to work with you towards partnerships that our mutually beneficial. After all, with the formation of the ASEAN economic community, The Philippines will be THE northern gateway to the region. The time to open that gateway together is definitely now. As I've been saying this past year, The Philippines is in deed open for business. The atmosphere has not been this conducive for business in a long time. [Not since Ma-Yi, "the term used by ancient Chinese traders to refer to a group of islands that is known today as the Philippines."] The rules will not be circumvented and The Law [of The Jungle or of Torah, teehee] will be followed, creating an environment that is both stable and predictable, one that is conducive to prophet. We will not take short cuts. We will follow the correct procedures. We will always take the long view, in order to achieve lasting progress for our country. The Chinese, perhaps among all the peoples of the world, know the value of taking the long view: you appreciate the point of thinking, not only about the next step, the next day, or the next deal; you think years, even decades and generations into the future, strategizing your every move. To this end, my country is taking a clear direction. As you can see from this strategy, we are taking a holistic approach: one that anticipates problems and addresses their different aspects. I encourage you to ride on this Wave of Optimism. You can seize these opportunities. The ties between The Philippines and China go back centuries and I'm hoping that our continued partnership will become stronger than Ever. In the past, our commercial relations have been more beneficial to you than to us. Now, we have come here to try and balance the equation {wide smile}. Together, we can achieve mutual growth of mutual benefit to our peoples. China is an economic powerhouse. My father taught me a very important lesson: he said, 'The very first freedom that has to be gained has to be freedom from hunger.' With increased trade between China and The Philippines, that dream to be realized by our people will happen sooner rather than later {resounding applause from Chinese audience}." ~ Intisk President, Benigno Aquino's Speech at Filipinim-Sinim Economic and Trade Forum