hope he continues to have success

...and your accent (takes one former SAfrican to recognize another). King David will be proud of you (to accept you as a commander in his army).

He is a nice guy but set on a wrong path by religion. I wish him and his family well, but I regret they display mental confusion. Becoming a rabbi weakens him and his family, which is very different from the strength which the fictitious Jack Bauer projected. The history of Jewish religion is replete with defeats, again and again for thousands of years, so why is a rabbi's role serving as a model for this fine person?

You're an idiot, Michael. It isn't that the Jews have preserved Shabbat. It's that Shabbat has preserved the Jews. No wonder you are so lost and without direction. Israel has always had a dual identity. There is Eretz Israel -- the land of Israel -- and Am Israel -- the people of Israel. Abandon one, and you abandon the other. But thank you for explaining why you are such a pathetic, soulless individual. I don't sympathize with you, but I do pity you. Most people would find that insulting. You do not inspire sympathy, but you surely do inspire pity. I hope you find your way.

wisely.