FORTIFIED CHILDREN

B"H


Saturday, August 23rd

I woke so starving that I was a complete mental case. I made a snack & thus regained my sanity enough to walk to shul :)
The stroll to Yedidyah was beautiful! So quiet in the streets of Jerusalem on Shabbat - not a single car to break the stillness of the fresh morning. Still early enough that the sun wasn't piercing my eyes & skin yet. Even so, most people seemed to already be in synagogue by now - they start early here, often 8 or 8:30 a.m.
The morning was so soft, even the cats who live in the dumpsters seemed less skittery, less afraid when I approached. I floated to worship through the long, gentle shadows.
Yedidyah was just as I'd remembered it. In the basement of a Dati elementary school in Baqa, with separate men's & womens' entrances. There was a security guard at the gate of the tall metal fence, typical of schools here. One of the reasons I sometimes reconsider raising a family here - the schools are bordered by stone walls, heavy steel fences & barbed wire. I don't want my children growing up thinking that spending their childhood inside what looks like a prison compound to be either normal or desirable. I passed the guard with his enormous automatic rifle (wasn't an M16) & we nodded to each other. After all, it *was* Shabbes...
I had a tremendous time re-acquainting with old friends! Thank G@d everyone is happy & healthy & their children are growing!
After Shabbes I worked on my lettering & prepped for tomorrow...