SUNDAY, MAY 22 BY THE JEWISH CALENDAR WAS LAG B'OMER 5771 AND MARKED DAY 1793 IN THE CAPTIVITY OF GILAD SHALIT.

This traditional Jewish Holiday marking relief from suffering -- which did not mark a day of relief from suffering for Gilad Shalit -- did mark a day of relief for myself; indeed on this day of Lag B'Omer I was discharged from hospital care, having healed adequately to return home after two major surgeries, the first, double-bypass heart surgery, and the second, clot-busting surgery due to a "saddle" embolism.

I marvel at my own good fortune, while I despair and pray for Gilad Shalit. On my birthday two days before Pesach I was admitted to hospital; on the first day of Chol Moed Pesach I underwent a double-bypass operation; less than two weeks later I underwent clot-busting surgery; a week before Lag B'Omer I gained strength to walk prodigiously; on Lag B'Omer I returned home. I "should" have been dead twice; HaShem took me "Between the Straits" on dry land!

May Gilad Shalit be free this Shavuoth!