Independence Day Week

We began this past week with a dinner at my daughter's fiancee's mother's home. She insisted that we bring everyone and thus began a special series of prayers to the One Above that my kids wouldn't bring shame upon our family while over at their home. They are Orthodox and proper and I had no idea what to bring them for a gift. The Sephardic culture happens to be more extravagant in gift-giving than us North Americans are - so just cheap wine and chocolates won't do. I ordered an extravagant house plant I couldn't afford and my daughter bought expensive wine. There were 28 of them and 7 of us all seated on their terrace which overlooked the entrance to Jerusalem and the busy highway. Of course there were about 50 courses and I was stuffed. Hubby complained afterwards - "They looked at us like WE'RE the foreigners." Yeah honey. We ARE the foreigners here. But I think the evening was successful and my prayers about my kids were answered. The wedding is still on.

And then there was the slave job with my slave job boss telling me he wants me to work until 6:00 pm on Independence Day eve when most Israelis get out at 1:00 pm. I was horrified that everyone but me would get off 5 hours before me.

He inquired of me every 1/2 hour - "that's ok with you, isn't it?" to which I finally burst out and did my Oliver Twist bit - "No. I'm not thrilled about staying hours after everyone has left."

Needless to say, his wife or some other person probably reamed him out for wanting to work me like the slave I am and the next morning his secretary joyfully asked if I had prayed hard because he was unchaining me at 1:00 pm with the rest of the regular folk.

That evening I decided not to go into town that night for Independence Eve celebrations. There were some alternative "happenings" I could have gone to - such as lighting candles together with Palestinians for their "Nakba" which means our Independence Day is their "Disaster" for many of them lost their homes throughout the country (as did we in the Old City) but I guess it wasn't all rosy for all of us then. I just went with friends to our local park together with 18,000 others that night to hear Chaim Moshe, a famous old-time Israeli singer and watch fireworks up close. I brought my own popcorn and beer - I am pretty broke these pre-wedding days.

Today on National Barbecue Day a/k/a Independence Day, I could have gone strawberry picking in fields near Tel Aviv. I could have gone hiking in Tekoa in the West Bank - or to the same barbecue as we did last year, but I opted for something new and hung out with our "messianic" friends who went to a friend's barbecue in beautiful Tzur Hadassah. Hubby thought it might be "dangerous" for us to be associated with so many "believers", but I just shrugged. Either you believe or you don't believe and what is so dangerous about that. I like the way they are close knit and it's something I miss from the Orthodox Jewish community I left in Toronto. Of course they were all English-speakers which made Hubby more comfortable and brought him out of his festive doldrums (he gets doldrums usually during festivals - don't know why). We were the new faces at this gathering and everyone asked us what "fellowship" we belong to. I don't know why they refer to a "fellowship" - Jews usually say - what "shul" or synagogue do you go to. Or - "where do you daven (pray)?" so this struck me as so foreign. They were ok when I told them I was just a "wandering Jew" - with no house of prayer base but feeling close to God nevertheless. They were happy to hear from me (as I heard it straight from the Sufi Sheikh last week) that Moslems believe that Jesus is the Messiah and even though they don't believe in his divinity, they do believe he will come back as Messiah" . Most didn't know that. Anyhow, as for me - yeah, I'd love to live in a perfect world. And I'd love to have someone like a messiah doing the job for me as well. But it's tough for me to believe anyone in particular being a messiah and saving this world. I think we have to do it ourselves.