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Yehuda Lave is an author, journalist, psychologist, rabbi, spiritual teacher, and coach, with degrees in business, psychology and Jewish Law. He works with people from all walks of life and helps them in their search for greater happiness, meaning, business advice on saving money, and spiritual engagement.

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Children Make Up 50% of New COVID Cases, Bennett Urges Parents to Vaccinate

Prime Minister Naftali Bennett says Israel is at the onset of 'a wave of coronavirus infections among children' but that he does not plan to ease restrictions

Eliyahu Kay, Oleh from South Africa, is Israeli Murdered by Hamas Terrorist

By Aryeh Savir,

Photo Credit: Joe Brickman / Facebook

Eliyahu David Kay, 26 and an Oleh (new immigrant) from South Africa, is the Israeli who was murdered by a Hamas terrorist in Jerusalem's Old City on Sunday morning.

Kay, who served in the IDF's Paratroops Division, was engaged to be married in a few months and was a yeshiva student learning in Kiryat Gat.

The Western Wall Heritage Foundation and Rabbi of the Kotel Shmuel Rabinowitz stated they were saddened by Kay's murder, an employee of the Western Wall Heritage Foundation who was on his way to work as a guide at the Kotel.

Kay "welcomed everyone brightly, doing his holy work," the statement said.

Hamas terrorist Fadi Abu-Shkadem fired at Israelis on their way to the Kotel, killing Kay and wounding four others.

Rabbi Aharon Emergreen, 26 and married, was seriously injured in the terror attack and is still in a life-threatening condition.

Rabbi Zeev Katzenelbogen, a 46-year-old father of eight who lives in the Jewish Quarter of Jerusalem, was wounded and was initially defined as in moderate condition, but after his hospitalization, his condition improved and he is now defined as being lightly injured.

The two Border Police troops who were lightly injured in the attack were released from the hospital later in the day after receiving treatment.

Sunday's attack occurred four days after an Arab terrorist stabbed two Border Police troops near the Ateret Cohanim yeshiva in the Old City, wounding one of them moderately and the other lightly. The terrorist was shot dead.

The police are boosting their forces in the city in fear of further attacks. While Jerusalem has experienced stabbing and vehicular terror attacks in recent months, a shooting attack is extremely severe.

Prime Minister Naftali Bennett stated on Sunday during the weekly Cabinet meeting that "this is the second recent terrorist attack in Jerusalem. I have directed the security forces to prepare accordingly and be alert, also over concern for copycat attacks. We need to be on heightened alert and prevent future attacks."

The Israeli killed in the attack is the first terror victim in seven months, and is the first Israeli to be murdered in a terror attack in Jerusalem in two and a half years.

The Three Musketeers at the Kotel

COVID-19 cost 28 million years of life in 31 countries last year - study

By MAAYAN JAFFE-HOFFMAN

More than 28 million years of life were lost in 2020 in 31 countries, according to a studypublished this week in the peer-reviewed BMJjournal.TheUnited States was among the countries with the highest number of yearsof life lost. Israel was among the countries with the least number ofyears lost, ranking at number nine.The

purpose of the study, which was led by Prof. Nazrul Islam in the United Kingdom, was to estimate the changes in life expectancy and years of life lost in 2020 associated with the COVID-19 crisis.

Islamlooked at 37 countries with upper-middle and high incomes, where hefelt that the data would be complete and reliable. The reduction in life expectancy was calculated based on the difference between observed andexpected life expectancy in 2020, using the Lee-Carter model. Excessyears were based on the same calculation but using the World Health

Organization standard life table."Life expectancy... is an indication of how long, on average, people can expect to survive if the age specific mortality rates remain constant for the remainder of their life," the report said. "Years of life lost takes into account the age of distributions of mortality by giving greater weights to deaths that occur at younger ages."The countries in which life expectancy declined the most were Russia, the United States and Bulgaria. Islam explained that this appears to have been largely affected by a high number of deaths in the younger population, especially among people below 65 years of age.The highest excess years of life lost per 100,000 population were seen in Bulgaria, Russia, Lithuania, the United States and Poland.

COVID-19 is seen in a blood vessel (Illustrative). (credit: TEL AVIV UNIVERSITY)In

total, 31 countries lost 222 million years of life, which is 28.1

million more than expected. More years were lost by men than women,

according to the study. Moreover, the years of life lost to COVID were

more than five times higher than those lost to the flu in 2015, a season

that was considered moderately severe.

There were only three countries in which

people actually lived longer: New Zealand, Taiwan and Norway. In three

countries there was no change in life expectancy: Denmark, Iceland and

South Korea.These six countries also did not have higher than expected years of life lost, the study showed.Islam

said, "Healthcare surely is a critical factor" in why some countries'

life expectancy declined more than others or lost more years of life,

but "so is the capacity to respond to emergencies such as the pandemic,

and equity in accessing the healthcare services."He

said the US, in particular, "is known to have widespread inequalities

in healthcare accessibility, which might have contributed to such a huge

loss in 2020."The study was, of course, conducted based on numbers from before vaccination. Israel, for example, started administering doses

to its most vulnerable population only at the end of December 2020. As

such, the statistics might look even more different this year, based on

which countries were able to prevent COVID-19 deaths through

inoculation.The

study shows that the pandemic and the policy measures countries took to

stop the spread of the virus have had implications for mortality beyond

deaths from COVID-19.

'Problematic': Germany Combines Solemn Kristallnacht Memorial With Fall of Berlin Wall Celebration

German Jewish community head opposes combined remembrance day for 'Kristallnacht' and fall of Berlin Wall.

By Sharon Wrobel, The Algemeiner

As Germany marks the anniversary this week of 'Kristallnacht,' the head of the Central Council of Jews in the country said he viewed an initiative to commemorate the memory of the atrocities committed by the Nazis in 1938 and the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 in one event as "problematic."

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier is holding a collective remembrance event on Tuesday titled "1918 – 1938 – 1989: Commemoration of November 9." In German history, Nov. 9 stands for three incisive dates: the proclamation of the German republic in 1918, the 1938 pogroms targeting Jews, and the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989.

"I think a day of remembrance that takes into account all historical events on November 9 to be difficult because they are very ambiguous," Josef Schuster, President of the Central Council of Jews in Germany told the German press agency.

When Schuster was asked about what Nov. 9 meant to him, he responded: "Nov. 9 is the day when the synagogues were devastated in 1938, when more than half of the synagogues in Germany and Austria burned and thousands of Jews were deported to concentration camps. This is what this day stands for me above all, even if it is of course connected with the fall of the Berlin Wall."

"But I fear that the majority of the population will not be able to do much with Nov. 9, 1938, spontaneously," he added.

"This day in 1938 had a very serious negative impact on at least part of the German population: there was a danger to life and limb, deportations took place, even murders. On the other hand, there is the clearly joyful occasion of the fall of the Berlin Wall in November 1989. I think a single National Day of Remembrance for all these different events is problematic," Schuster remarked.

Last year, a commission examining "30 Years of German unity" had proposed the National Day of Remembrance.

Steinmeier described the historical date as a "day of contradictions, a day of light and a day of darkness" that stands for the ambivalence of memory.

At the remembrance event of Nov. 9, the youngest member of the 20th German Bundestag, Emilia Fester will shed light on 1918; the German Jewish Holocaust survivor Margot Friedländer, who celebrated her 100th birthday on Friday will talk about the Reichspogromnacht in 1938, and the civil rights activist and former head of the Stasi files agency Roland Jahn will speak about what happened in 1989.

Outgoing Chancellor Angela Merkel is also expected to attend the commemoration event hosted by Steinmeier at the Bellevue Palace, the president's official residence.

Work Your Hamstrings At Home with These Must-Try Exercises

Full Article
https://www.ba-bamail.com/content.aspx?emailid=42639

Editor's Note:

In June on attempting to run to catch a train to visit a sick friend, I heard my hamstring "pop". It took two months of deep physical massage to get myself back to normal, so I could walk again. Believe me, I am now a believer in Stretching and exercising my hamstrings!

The hamstrings are among the most often ignored muscle group in the human body. We don't often hear discussions on people strengthening their hamstrings, do we? As we tend to focus more on yoga, aerobics, strength training, jogging, and the like, we tend to ignore them. As you age, the hamstrings become susceptible to damage. Maintaining them is crucial to keep your body flexible and free of pain and injuries.

The hamstring muscle group is comprised of three muscles that start at the bottom of the pelvis and run along the back of the thighs to the back of the knees: the semimembranosus, the semitendinosus, and the biceps femoris. The hamstring muscles are attached to the pelvis as well as the upper portion of the lower leg. These muscles are responsible for helping you bend the knee and making sure that your hips are stable and centered when you perform activities like walking, running, sitting, standing, or bending. Since this oft-ignored muscle group is elemental in everyday movements like walking and sitting, it's important to take proper care of it. If the hamstrings are weak, it can lead to knee pain and lower back pain. Signs of Weak Hamstrings A few signs can help you understand if your hamstring muscles are on the weaker side: * A decreased range of motion as you bend forward. * Achiness in the back of the leg that doesn't go away. * A mild ache just under the buttocks.

Another way to gauge whether your hamstrings are delicate is to simply try and bend over and touch your toes. If your toes and fingers don't meet, you may have weak or tight hamstrings.

Related: 8 Seated Exercises For Improved Balance and Joint Mobility

Easy Hamstring Stretches to Do At Home Keeping your hamstrings strong will help you maintain proper muscular balance. Flexible hamstrings will also ensure a stronger lower back, proper posture, and reduced risk of injury. Lucky for you, there are many simple hamstring exercises you can do at your home, no extra equipment is needed.

https://www.ba-bamail.com/content.aspx?emailid=42639

New Yorkers Who Fled City During Covid Find They Made Mistakes Going Rural

New York - New Yorkers Who Fled article — A lot of the city folks had no idea what it would take to survive in remote locations. As per a recent article in the NY Post, many of those who fled found themselves in over their head and missing the city comforts. Photo Credit: Facebook

By: Hadassa Kalatizadeh

When the pandemic struck New York, and the City that never sleeps was forced to shutter, scores of New Yorkers fled to rural areas. With work and schools going remote, and with the attractions shuttered, they felt it made little sense to stay in such a crowded city and pay such high expenses. Many headed towards Florida, or somewhere aloof and remote, where they would have plenty of outdoors space and escape the urban life. It didn't always turn out as well as expected though.

A lot of the city folks had no idea what it would take to survive in remote locations. As per a recent article in the NY Post, many of those who fled found themselves in over their head and missing the city comforts. Actress Kate Chapman, 51, and her husband Ed,55, a Broadway sound technician, decided to head to rural Colorado when the pandemic shuttered the city. Ed owned 40 acres outside Colorado Springs, which he had purchased "for retirement", and they figured this was their chance to live it up. It wasn't the oasis they imagined, however. They literally had to build the home themselves. Cultivating crops and raising chickens weren't as easy as they may seem either, especially in the arid land which was subject to dust storms and hail.

She ended up missing the things she never thought to appreciate. "My first night staying there I was petrified, because it was so quiet," she said. "The USPS can't and won't deliver mail here, so I suddenly had to get a PO Box," she said. "I've never had to go to the post office so much in my life." Countless other stories were told by those who took part in the exodus, about how they moved into places with leaks or were forced to do their own remodeling without any previous experience in rural undertakings.