Article voiceover
Even though everyone is arguing
wherever I go I had to leave
the store down the block when I
went in for a cappuccino
loud discussion about Israel and Hamas
dividing the coffee drinkers in two.
Peter went to get Ahava
they went into the park with two boys
and their grandmothers
on their way in a Hasidic man passed
them all and said are you Jewish
and Ahava answered yes,
Take these candles for Shabbat
he said and walked away,
Why didn’t he give you candy
asked one of the boys.
Candles are good enough
Ahava replied.
Laura and Uday
held their first
since the pandemic
beautiful apartment
friendly talkative friends
I wonder if our friends
are the same as we are
Watching The Crown Season 3.
Also, Ahava may be leading us forward out of this mess.
I have an Israeli friend who summarized the situation in the Middle East as, "there's shit in the yogurt." We can all agree with that.
Three adorable 6-year old boys ran up to me near Cooper Union and asked if I was Jewish. "3%" I answered. They were perplexed, so I explained that my aunt had done a DNA test. They wanted to know which side I had my Jewish ancestor in. It was my mother's. They were pleased. "3% is better than nothing, right?" I asked. They agreed, but I didn't get the Sabbath candles they were giving out.
It was still a sweet exchange.