Mourning Former Israeli PM Ariel Sharon
On January 4, 2006, while serving as prime minister, just two-and-a-half months shy of elections that he was expected to win in a landslide, Sharon suffered a devastating stroke and never recovered. Sharon lost the final battle and died on Shabbat January 11, 2014 at the age of 85.
He is survived by his older sister Dita, his two living sons, Omri and Gilad, his daughter-in-law Inbal, and his six grandchildren.
Ariel Sharon was a farmer, warrior, and politician. His was a life that embodied the early Zionist ethos of labor and agriculture along with self-defense. Sharon's early military career began in the Palmach, and it was David Ben Gurion who turned the Eastern European sounding Ariel Sheinerman to the more Israeli Sharon.
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“I’m not sure I see myself being involved Jewishly in college.” “I’m not sure I believe in God.” “Should I have children when I get older, I know I’ll raise them as Jews.” “The first time I left for Camp Harlam/went to Israel/went to a NFTY event/attended a L’Taken seminar/confronted anti-Semitism/dealt with the death of a peer, I felt a deeper attachment to my faith.”The first time I suggested changing Confirmation to 12th grade, it seemed as if I had thrown down the first set of tablets received at Sinai. There were those concerned about my tampering with tradition and others who were convinced that we would see a huge drop off in enrollment after Bar/Bat Mitzvah. At the beginning of 12th grade Confirmation, I ask our students to write an essay addressing two basic questions:
- What have been the most meaningful milestones in your Jewish life to date?
- What exactly are you “confirming” for your Jewish future?