Prayers do not require a religion

Regardless of your belief and/or practice in an established religion, prayer and positive thoughts for others benefits you and the people for whom you direct your meditative thoughts.

Please pray for my friends in Israel, Lebanon, and other Middle East countries. I got word from a high school mate of mine, Baruch, a Breslev Chassid who lives in northern Israel, that a bomb landed in his neighborhood today - please pray for him and others in that part of the world as they work through this difficult time with their neighboring countries whose militant and dissident occupants use violence to achieve their ends:

This morning we awoke to the sound of an exploding Katyusha, just a block and a half away. It landed on the top floor of a nursing home around 7:35 this morning. Two injuries were reported due to the scattering debris. Thank God we are okay. Again, at 10:55 this morning a siren alerted us to another attack possible attack. Reports indicate that Hamas in Southern Lebanon is responsible for the attacks in the North, but whose fooling whom here. My wife just told me that two rockets exploded in Nahariyya this morning. The location of the second will be reported later, once we determine its location.

For those who want a deeper insight into what's going on here in Israel. Hashem (God) is wanting to draw us closer to Him. It's like when a child tugs at your leg, you really don't pay attention until the child starts climbing your leg or crying. That's kind of what's going on now. Hashem wants to get our attention and draw us closer to him. He only wants us to rely solely on Him and no one or anything else.

Please also pray for my friends in Ireland. The recession is very tough on my friends in southwestern Ireland. Every week it seems another larger employer is closing down or announcing major layoffs. Please pray for them as they find employment more and more difficult to attain:

Dell confirms plans to shed 1,900 jobs in Limerick
By Louisa Nesbitt and Ian Guider Thursday January 08 2009, Independent.ie

Dell Inc., the world’s second-biggest personal-computer maker, will cut almost 2,000 jobs in Limerick in a cost-cutting measure.

The company plans to move all manufacturing from the Raheen facility to Poland over the next 12 months following a global review of its operations.

The measures at the 18-year-old Dell plant, which became a symbol of the Celtic Tiger boom years, dealt another blow to the economy with unemployment already at its highest level in more than a decade.

Dell employs about 4,300 people in Ireland. Around 1,900 people will lose their jobs as a result, while thousands more ancillary jobs could also be at risk in the mid-west region.

The lay-offs will begin in April and will be completed by January of next year.