Shabbat Part II

The neighborhood reminded me of some of the sadder parts of Flatbush in Brooklyn, the fifth ward in Houston, Northeast DC, depressed Oakland, South Austin, Little Haiti in Miami… shall I continue? The houses were box-like, without draperies or big windows, few lights and scarily solid concrete walls. Children played in the streets and aimlessly darted in front of cars. The minute we passed this area, the grasses were green again. It felt like the America the media is finally exposing…...the real America behind the picket fences.

We thanked Ronen for the dose of reality and then climbed the steps to his home. The table was set and we met his younger brothers Jonathan and Gabi (for Gabriel). Papa Dani Assif is a solid man with a strong handshake. I liked him from the start. You can tell when someone has stories to tell….and Dani Assif probably has quite a few even though I did not have the chance to ask about them. Judith came in a bit later (MUCH more on Judith in my next posting) and we eventually came to the table for Hamotzi and Kiddush and lighting of the candles. I couldn’t believe I was finally having a Shabbat dinner in Israel.

We sat down and of course I wanted to know about the boys….what they were doing, what they liked, what they didn’t like. Each was unique and poised, unlike many young men I’ve met. The two older boys (both in the army) possessed a strong sense of self. Jonathan is in an elite commando unit where he is currently in training. Honestly, it sounded horrific. I would last a total of three minutes (if that). When he speaks about his past week you know he would be a hard guy to crack. Not that he is hard…..not at all.

Gabi is the youngest, very sweet and talkative. He told us about his upcoming trip to the States with his parents…..I am interested to hear his thoughts after he returns home. I wonder what these guys really think of the States…..I mean, really.

Inge Bernhard, a woman whose story I will write about later this week was the fourth invited guest. The boys treat her with such tenderness….they call her their third grandmother. Maybe someday they’ll ask Inge to tell them her story….which is incredible.

Shabbat was fantastic, with Ben sharing with us his somewhat waivering plans to return to the States. I remembered my first experience with a weapon (two FBI agent colleagues convinced me to hit the shooting range while on official travel in Panama) and all enjoyed my story about falling backward from the strength of the gun’s kickback. We talked about my brother who climbed Mount Everest, my sister who is a psychotherapist, my brother Daniel, intermarriage, THE project, Ethiopian/Russian immigrants, you name it.

It’s amazing to think about that meal and the connection we all felt. I had not met these people before….ever. That may be one thing about the community that will be difficult to completely express and/or explain verbally.

Hopefully you have something like this in your life but if not, I’ll invite you to observe one of our reunions.

You’ll be amazed.