I have planned to write about Irony & Education, about trying on hats in M&S in Bluewater, about my planned journey to the Whittard outlet(canecelled), about our new book that`s out now and how excited I am about it, but as I got to work today I learnt that Nir Cohen, who was My Gap Year kids Madrich was killed Yesterday in Lebanon.
I know (sort of, not really) how to deal with death, but they don`t. For all of them Nir`s death is thier first encounter with Israeli-army breavment. I read them what was written about him in the Israeli news papers, and started crying not only for him, but also for them, and there naivity that was taken from them. We learnt in his memory one of my favourites Mishnyot from Ethics of the Fathers,

He(Hillel,one of the teachers) would also say:
A boor cannot be sin-fearing,
an ignoramus cannot be pious,
a bashful one cannot learn,
a short-tempered person cannot teach,
nor does anyone who does much business grow wise.
In a place where there are no men, strive to be a man.

(Chapter 2:5)

For me its about the desire for knowledge, the value & methodolgy of learning and teaching, standing up, being counted and being a role model for so many others.
Just as Nir was for so many.
May his memory be blessed.