Shalom Also Means Goodbye

Shalom. How are you? Fine I hope. Israel, according to the Bible, was intended to be God’s dwelling place on earth, and the eternal home to the Jewish people. This is a collection of stories about Israel. Some are about love, because Israel abounds with love: love of God, love of the land, love of the people, love of family and friends, and love of a man and a woman. Some stories are also about War, about hatred and power. That also abounds in Israel. A good question to ask is: Why does God allow such powerful and opposite emotions in the same Holy place? Pistachios is based on a true story shared by a friend who helped the first successful pistachio farm in Israel. Pistachios Parts II and III are continuations of the story because I fell in love with the characters and the plot. Zooky in the North and Zooky in the South are based upon true stories from the Yom Kippur war, a war Israel almost lost in the beginning, were it not for miracles. Baruch Hashem is also based upon a true story, about a friend in Israel who was ambushed by terrorists driving home in his car and shot six times – and survived. Aitz Bodade – Lonely Tree is about a tree that survived several wars, surrounded by love and hate in almost equal portions. Gaza I – True or False and Gaza II – 2,000 More Years are when Israel forcibly pulled 8,000 of its citizens out of Gaza in an attempt to start the “peace process” … but was peace the result? Shalom Also Means Goodbye is about a plane trip that meets with terrorism. It contains a warning as I leave behind the topic of war and hatred for the topic of love. Neshama Sheli is about the love between a man and a woman I admire. Sharing on Shavuos, Yom Kippur in Yerushalayim, Ghosts in the Succah, and Duel in the Succah concern Jewish holidays spent in Israel, something every Jew should experience. Come to Me is about the natural attraction of Israel to a Jew. When God Was a Little Boy is an answer to why we have love and war. Where Do The Words Come is a love letter to the art of writing, other writers, and God. Enjoy!

Shalom. How are you? Fine I hope. Israel, according to the Bible, was intended to be God’s dwelling place on earth, and the eternal home to the Jewish people. This is a collection of stories about Israel. Some are about love, because Israel abounds with love: love of God, love of the land, love of the people, love of family and friends, and love of a man and a woman. Some stories are also about War, about hatred and power. That also abounds in Israel. A good question to ask is: Why does God allow such powerful and opposite emotions in the same Holy place? Pistachios is based on a true story shared by a friend who helped the first successful pistachio farm in Israel. Pistachios Parts II and III are continuations of the story because I fell in love with the characters and the plot. Zooky in the North and Zooky in the South are based upon true stories from the Yom Kippur war, a war Israel almost lost in the beginning, were it not for miracles. Baruch Hashem is also based upon a true story, about a friend in Israel who was ambushed by terrorists driving home in his car and shot six times – and survived. Aitz Bodade – Lonely Tree is about a tree that survived several wars, surrounded by love and hate in almost equal portions. Gaza I – True or False and Gaza II – 2,000 More Years are when Israel forcibly pulled 8,000 of its citizens out of Gaza in an attempt to start the “peace process” … but was peace the result? Shalom Also Means Goodbye is about a plane trip that meets with terrorism. It contains a warning as I leave behind the topic of war and hatred for the topic of love. Neshama Sheli is about the love between a man and a woman I admire. Sharing on Shavuos, Yom Kippur in Yerushalayim, Ghosts in the Succah, and Duel in the Succah concern Jewish holidays spent in Israel, something every Jew should experience. Come to Me is about the natural attraction of Israel to a Jew. When God Was a Little Boy is an answer to why we have love and war. Where Do The Words Come is a love letter to the art of writing, other writers, and God. Enjoy!

Zalman Velvel is an award winning story writer and playwrite. He has written over 200 short stories and a dozen plays,