Unclogging the drains

January 9, 2009 - 3:48 PM by David · 1 Comment
Filed under: A New Reality, General, Israeliness, Life, War

Almost two weeks into Operation Cast Lead, and there’s a strange sense of normalcy that pervades the major parts of the country not in Hamas rocket range.

There are plenty of ways that the average person is getting involved though – like care packages being arranged for soldiers serving in Gaza, and there’s home hospitality that’s being offered for residents of the South at families in other parts of the country.

But with Friday morning being ‘erev Shabbat’, the Aroma at the local mall was packed this morning with coffee drinkers and diners, going about living their lives. They’re not being callous or uncaring, but just as the rest of the country carried on as usual during the Second Lebanon War, you wouldn’t know there was a conflict going on by walking around Jerusalem or Tel Aviv.

There’s still errands to do, and clogged drains to fix. And we’ve got plenty of both of them. Our friend, and local plumber, Haim Mayim (loosely translated as Haim the Water guy), spent a couple hours at our house trying figure out the source of our kitchen sink clog. Joe the Plumber’s got nothing on Haim, who can expound on Talmud and Springsteen with the same breadth and humor.

Simultaneously, my wife was trying to cook for Shabbat, and we were making sandwiches for the kids’ lunch. Not easy when you’re ankle deep in dirty, muddy water.

The police daughter was keeping the peace in Jerusalem’s Old City, where she was monitoring Friday Muslim prayers on the Temple Mount. With tensions taut due to what’s happening to their brethren in Gaza, there’s no guarantee that riots wouldn’t erupt at any moment. But a 2pm check found her enjoying a relatively boring shift. Thank God for boring.

And daughter number two was staying in Jerusalem after school so she could attend a birthday party Friday night. if you’re wondering what senior year parties are like in Israel, they’re probably just like senior year parties in other countries, with the potable accessories that come hand in hand with adolescence. But these are the ‘kids’ who may be on the frontlines a year from now, so if they want to indulge now, I’m not going to complain as long they don’t drive.

Before Shabbat dinner tonight, we’ll remember the soldiers who have fallen these last two weeks, and say a prayer for the safety of those defending our country, including many family friends. We’ll also remember the civilians in Gaza who have lost their lives, and express the hope that they’ll one day find leadership who will care about them enough to not put them in the middle of a war.

Then we’ll eat, drink, and enjoy each other’s company – and contemplate the totally illogical, impossible, yet intoxicating place in which we live.

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