Slice of Life

Stamp! Pause …….. Stamp! ...................... Very long pause. Stamp! These were the sounds we heard over the loudspeaker at the Misrad HaPnim (Ministry of the Interior) when we first made aliyah in August 1998, before the days of Nefesh B’Nefesh.

The year was 1948, in the midst of the War of Independence. While the city of Yerushalayim was besieged by enemies and short on food, water, and other supplies, Israelis tried to live as normally as possible.

Two weeks ago, I woke up to a rattling WhatsApp message sent to our family chat by a family member whom I love dearly, but… There was a photo of a group of people davening at Kever Yosef along with a reassuring comment stating that we can be calm – they had already exited Shechem. This was followed by a comment from another family member, whom I also love dearly, who congratulated the original poster (and, yes, I do still love him, in case you were wondering) for providing all of this exciting information after the fact.

We dip the apple in the honey and savor its sweetness, hoping for a sweet year. We blow the shofar to awaken ourselves to do t’shuvah. We eat maror to remind us of the bitterness we experienced when we were slaves in Mitzrayim. As frum Jews, we live a life that’s filled with symbols.

We moved.  Okay…so, we didn’t really move.  It just feels that way. We still live in Ramat Beit Shemesh.  Same address. But our home is different now.  It appears that the United Nations has uprooted itself from New York City and transplanted itself right in our home.  No, we are not anti-Semitic.  Of course, not! We love Israel!  We love Jews.  And we all get along well, baruch Hashem.  But some things have changed. 

Beit Shemesh is no stranger to the news. Over the years, the intense conflicts between the various segments of the population provided fodder for news outlets looking for a juicy scoop. And there was no shortage of fodder.