We sat down to eat Friday night,
And kindled our Sabbath Light
And later did shelter
And, sweating, did swelter,
Still we ate, and savored each bite.
Synopsis: I’m a Family Practitioner from Sioux City, Iowa. In 2010 I danced back from the brink of burnout, and, honoring a 1-year non-compete clause, traveled and worked in out-of-the-way places in Alaska, Nebraska, Iowa, and New Zealand. After 3 Community Health years, I took temporary gigs in Iowa, Pennsylvania, Nebraska, Canada, and Alaska. Since the pandemic, I worked telemedicine, a COVID-19 clinic, a VA clinic, and spots Texas, Iowa, and Pennsylvania. Taking vacation from circuit-riding rural clinics in Iowa, Nebraska, and South Dakota, I went on vacation to Israel, and found myself in war zone. I haven’t been able to consistently post since we started to flee, and post worder will be jumbled. I’m Jewish. I will not be writing about religion or politics. See my post https://walkaboutdoc.wordpress.com/2010/09/13/why-i-dont-write-about-religion-politics-or-sex/
Friday evening carries special significance for Jews and others who observe the 7th day as a day of rest. Our group met in the hotel restaurant for a sumptuous meal after a day of tourism.
We welcomed the Sabbath with candle lighting, we sang over wine (or grape juice). We leisurely discussed the events of the day, that day the Israelis bombed the Iranian nuclear facility.
No rational human would advocate for nuclear proliferation. No one in the Middle East wants Iran armed with nuclear weapons. Very few believe any Iranian assertion that they’re enriching uranium for peaceful uses. Almost all believe the Iranian goal is death to Israel.
Just as with a good deal of advanced science, few understand the link between Uranium 235 and 238, and the problems inherent in trying to weaponize naturally-occurring uranium.
Before we ate, we each named something from the week for which we hold gratitude. In the middle of a war zone, we took our time through the buffet line, an outstanding, overwhelming abundance of food. Then at leisure we started to eat.
Till the air raid warnings sounded.
We all have an Israeli security app on our phones, and we received the warnings in Hebrew and English to get to a sheltered area within 90 seconds. The hotel PA sounded loudly, first in Hebrew then in English.
We left our plates and began the forever stairway descent to the 3rd sub-basement. And waited.
After the all-clear we could take the elevator up, and we went back to our food, now cooled. Some returned to the buffet line.
The air-raid alerts came again, and again came the descent down the stairs.
The shelter area was crowded, hot, and noisy with inadequate seating. Still our group of 11 found each other, and talked till the all clear.
We went back to eat. And I ate with a gusto I would not have imagined.
Part of the 23rd Psalm says (depending on your translation) “He prepares a table for me in the presence of my enemy.” In the past I thought such a meal would be spoiled because of the danger, but in fact the context added to the enjoyment of the meal.
After the third air raid, I returned for dessert. Raspberry sorbet never tasted so sweet or clean.
Contrast, again, is the essence of meaning.
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