There are Hebrew letters found in the Torah scroll called “Otiot Meshunot,” unusual, atypical, whimsical, and beautiful. Around 600 CE, Hebrew scribes, following the combined efforts of thousands of scribes, working over hundreds of years, the “Masoretes," (literally “conveyors of tradition”) developed a system of vowel and stress marks that also precisely fixed or established the pronunciation and thus the meaning of the Hebrew Bible text. If you have chanted Torah you know these are “the vowels,” niqudot. What you might not know are the “Otiot Meshunot,” the unusual letters. They are visual Midrash. In this episode of ETZ Talks, we will discover the visual language of these "Extraordinary Hebrew Letters.”

Run for Their Lives is a global movement founded by Israelis in the Bay Area. Their mission is to raise awareness for the hostages held in Gaza. Each week, groups worldwide come together for family-friendly walks or runs lasting 18 (ח"י) minutes. Participants wear red shirts and carry flags representing the 28 nationalities of the hostages. So far there are 70+ groups across the globe, with new ones joining daily. Our Palo Alto group walks every Sunday at 12:30pm. People can join the silent WhatsApp group for location updates and to participate: https://chat.whatsapp.com/BeEgTk1MGlcDTJb6f5DqLX.