tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2492192659601155685.post5805338955897135481..comments2024-03-29T07:15:48.612+03:00Comments on TOMER DEVORAH: Responding to YWN MailbagDevorah Chayahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03625277197970920616noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2492192659601155685.post-81761804143684148732013-12-16T13:31:27.821+02:002013-12-16T13:31:27.821+02:00I'm sorry if I gave the impression that I was ...I'm sorry if I gave the impression that I was advising people to go "full-prepper." Two weeks to a month tops was what I had in mind. Beyond that, it will become a communal effort and thank God, Israel is best equipped for that since most Jews are already living in one community or another. Come to think of it, it would not be a bad idea for the heads of each community to come together and create a long-term contingency plan for different possible scenarios. Jews will pull together. I don't see a need for defensive measures against fellow Jews, but we should always bear in mind that our enemies live just across the wadi from us and will not hesitate to take advantage of an opportunity. If the central government should for any reason be unable to act, communities should be well-prepared to act on their own (like the yishuvim). There is no excuse for Jews in Eretz Yisrael to live cut off from each other as the goyim do among the nations. We are a family! The main idea is that everyone should prepare to whatever level hey are able - some more, some less - with the idea that those with more will be able to share. In our small and compact society, that is not an unrealistic goal. A well or cistern is absolutely a community responsibility. The cisterns all over the Nachlaot neighborhood in Yerushalayim were still in use until the middle of the 20th century. I don't know how accurate the information is, but I read that 97% of West Bank Arabs get their water from wells or cisterns? Devorah Chayahhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03625277197970920616noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2492192659601155685.post-59460782944476034122013-12-16T13:03:38.977+02:002013-12-16T13:03:38.977+02:00Going full prepper is not an option for most - if ...Going full prepper is not an option for most - if only due to the cost (given that most people are living paycheck to paycheck). Further, most of those ancient ways of life you mentioned were COMMUNITIES surviving together - combining skills and effort for public works (the cistern, the well, etc) and bartering.<br /><br />And of course, being the only one with lights / food / heat / whatever - next makes you a target for those who didn't prepare. I notice you didn't mention defensive preparations.<br /><br />So it's one thing to be prepared for life interruptions - being able to go a week or a month without outside help. Food / heat / water / medicines and first aide. For more than that you better have stocked a cave and be prepared to defend it OR have prepared with your community.Akivahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13042484533217272945noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2492192659601155685.post-216027031526300102013-12-16T11:31:19.106+02:002013-12-16T11:31:19.106+02:00I cannot emphasize this enough - we have taken our...I cannot emphasize this enough - we have taken our modern way of life too much for granted!<br /><br />Stockpile warm clothes and blankets, non-perishable food, some fuel for heat and cooking. Be prepared to do without refrigeration. Have enough bottled water on hand to last you until you can walk to a natural source for more. If you don't have a natural source within walking distance, think about digging a well or building a cistern. Download from the internet NOW, while you still have the chance, instructions for first aid or delivering a baby or any other skill you might need if cut off from access to a hospital. First aid supplies go without saying.<br /><br />Feel free to add your own ideas and suggestions.Devorah Chayahhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03625277197970920616noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2492192659601155685.post-14243197030551597122013-12-16T11:09:58.169+02:002013-12-16T11:09:58.169+02:00I actually read in a different forum a complaint a...I actually read in a different forum a complaint about refrigerated food having been ruined because of the electrical outage. <br /><br />Seriously? They left the food in the refrigerator to ruin when the outside temperatures were equal to (or less than) that of a working fridge? Or, if they were in an area with snow, did they not think to turn their fridge into an old-time "icebox" and stuff the freezer with snow brought in from outside?<br /><br />This is the time to start learning to think outside the box that we have created for ourselves. Our time and the amenities which we have come to expect have been the exception not the norm.Devorah Chayahhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03625277197970920616noreply@blogger.com