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October 24, 2005
Have Shabbos Will Travel
Confession: the holidays are torture. Succos is supposed to be, z'man simchatanu, the time of our rejoicing. But we miss Ariel so much that joy is like a far shore. I sit in shul and watch the other men with their sons and I want to flee. Davening, praying, is a challenge, well, it's always a challenge, but particularly now. But as a wise man who lost two, yes two childen, once said to me: "It's supposed to be hard."
But every once in a while, something happens that's just... magical, there is no other word. For some precious moments I'm able to sit back and smile, chat with friends, meet new people and, well, become what I imagine normal is.
Last Friday night, we were invited by one of our best friends to Shabbos, Sabbath, dinner in their Succah. Their son, Yaakov, not his real name, was one of Ariel's ZT'L, best friends, and to this day, one of my most cherished photos is Yaakov holding Ariel's hand in the ICU. What the picture does not show is that Yaakov spent hours holding Ariel's hand. Most importantly Yaakov gave over divrei Torah, wisdom of Torah, to Ariel, spiritual fuel for our son.
We can always count on meeting interestng people at our friend's home for they are not insular Orthodox Jews; in fact, Baruch, (nhrn) and his wife, Adina,(nhrn), go out of their way to meet and befriend an incredibly diverse range of Jews: observant, not-so-observant, and completely secular Jews.
As we entered the home, Baruch introduced us to their other guests. There was Sarah (nhrn) and her two children. Baruch explained that Sarah's husband was upstairs, asleep.
"He's exhausted from work."
"Hard day at the office?" I quipped.
"Yes, protecting the President."
"Which President?"
"President Bush."
Oh.
My.
G-d.
Sarah explained that her husband was a member of the SWAT team with the **** County and was tapped by the Secret Service to help protect The President.
A few minutes later, Avraham, (nhrn), rumpled, wearing a yarmulke, and a tactical knife still clipped to his pocket, dragged himself downstairs and we all entered the Succah for Shabbos dinner.
It turned out that Sarah was also a cop. Both she and Avraham are observant Jews. Their teenage children go to Yeshiva.
I was, for a few minutes, in heaven. Yes, z'man simchatanu had finally materialized.
Avraham could not give details of protecting POTUS, but he did tell some hysterical Stupid Criminal Stories. CSI, he sniffed, is nonsense. Most perps are dumb as planks of wood. Naturally, his kids rolled their eyeballs as Avraham told his Stupid Criminal Stories, for they had heard them before. Many times.
When Avraham learned that I was a Hollywood screenwriter, he narrowed his eyes suspiciously. Who could blame him? Hollywood liberals are correctly perceived by cops (and the armed forces) as the enemy. Baruch immediately jumped in and informed Avraham that I was not one of those limousine liberals. In fact, Baruch assured Avraham of my Conservative credentials, adding that I was a member of the NRA.
It turns out that Avraham collects antique weapons. At one point, as he listed all the amazing rifles and pistols in his collection, he mentioned one rifle that I had written about in a screenplay and was intimately familiar with. And so, I took the opportuntiy to quote one of the characters from my own screenplay about this particularly wonderful rifle:
"A fine machine." I said in my best Clint Eastwood voice.
Karen cracked up, slapped the table and announced: "You have no idea how long Robert's waited to use that line!"
I smiled sheepishly for Karen is always there to keep me honest.
Oh, it was a lovely and lively evening. Only later, as we were walking home, Karen and I, Offspring #2 and her friend who is visiting from New York, (Offspring #3 is in NY), only then did I realize that Ariel would have loved meeting Avraham, would have taken immense pride in the fact that an observant Jew is a member of a SWAT team and was chosen to protect our President.
And so, yes, it sounds silly to say that the evening was magical, but for a few precious hours, under the roof of the Succah, I felt myself like any other man, enjoying the glow of Shabbos, the companionship of friends; for a few hours, grief, my default emotion was put on hold.
I wish all our readers a lovely and meaningful Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah. I will not be able to blog until after Simchat Torah where I will write about the amazing Conservative Film Festival.
Oh yes, a fine article by Bloghead about the history Simchat Torah. I urge you all to read it.
Posted by Robert J. Avrech at October 24, 2005 11:02 AM
Comments
Seraphic Secret is private property, that's right, it's an extension of our home, and as such, Karen and I have instituted two Seraphic Rules and we ask commentors to act respectfully.
1. No profanity.2. No Israel bashing. We debate, we discuss, we are respectful. You know what Israel bashing is. The world is full of it. Seraphic Secret is one of the few places in the world that will not tolerate this form of anti-Semitism. That's it. Break either of these rules and you will be banned.
Must have been amazing to hear all those stories. Seems spy-cool in a sense.
Have a nice Holiday.
Posted by: Simon at October 24, 2005 12:27 PM
Simon:
Cool beyond words.
Posted by: Robert at October 24, 2005 12:30 PM
Wow, Robert. This story is definitely the stuff that...blogs are made of!
Glad it was a pleasurable and interesting evening for you and Karen.
Chag Sameach.
Posted by: Pearl at October 24, 2005 02:11 PM
Pearl:
Glad you enjoyed it. Have a wonderful Chag.
Posted by: Robert at October 24, 2005 02:42 PM
I would have enjoyed sitting at that table....btw....Im a big Clint Eastwood fan....I wish his current movies weren't so wimpy.
Chag Sama'ach to one and all!!
Posted by: Lance at October 24, 2005 04:31 PM
Lance:
Wish you were there too. It was a great Shabbos evening. Chag Sameach.
Posted by: Robert at October 24, 2005 04:34 PM
Hmmmm . . . a Faye Kellerman novel come to life!
Posted by: Yehudit at October 24, 2005 08:02 PM
My neighbor is an observant Jew who just happens to be a cop, but I don't think that his wife is.
I am sure that he knows your friends, how many shomer Shabbos cops can there be.
Posted by: Jack at October 25, 2005 09:36 PM
I am so happy to hear that you and your family had such an enjoyable evening.
I would have loved to have met this man. I love when things like this catch me by surprise. You never know what is around the corner in life...or who you will meet at any given moment.
Hope your holiday was wonderful.
Posted by: Stacey at October 25, 2005 09:49 PM
Robert, great "magical" story. Saw your pictures at the film festival...you are grinning from ear to ear!!!
Posted by: Randi at October 25, 2005 10:31 PM
Okay, I'm going to tell an old joke that should explain how awesome it is that Robert met an observant SWAT team member:
A CIA agent is told to make contact with a fellow covert operative at an apartment building in New York. He's told to enter the building at precisely 3:15 AM, use the elevator to the 11th floor, then walk down three flights to the 8th floor and go to apartment 8C. He is then told to knock 6 times in slow succession and his contact will let him in. The agent is reminded that ANY diversion in these orders will result in the mission being scrapped, so he must follow the directions exactly or risk comprising the most secret agent the CIA has ever had, someone who even the director doesn't know by face or name.
So the CIA man goes to New York. He enters the apartment building at precisely 3:15AM. He takes the elevator the 11th floor. Then he walks down to the 8th floor and finally arrives at apartment 8C. He knocks six times... nothing. He doesn't know what to do, so he knocks six times again.... still nothing. He starts to knock again when finally, a blearly-eyed elderly lady answers the door, takes one look at the man and says, "Oy, you must be looking for Goldberg the spy... he's two doors down!"
So thanks Robert for that true story! Now I know we have somebody other than just "Goldberg the Spy."
Posted by: Jake at October 27, 2005 07:00 AM
Yehudit:
Ironically, Faye K is a fiend of mine.
Posted by: Robert at October 27, 2005 09:47 AM
Jack:
I asked how many Jewish cops on his force and he counted on one hand.
Posted by: Robert at October 27, 2005 09:49 AM
Stacey:
I also like to be surprised and oh boy was this a nice surprise.
Posted by: Robert at October 27, 2005 09:50 AM
Randi:
I'm grinning because the film festival was a great experience!
Posted by: Robert at October 27, 2005 09:51 AM
Jake:
LOL!
Posted by: Robert at October 27, 2005 09:58 AM
I loved reading this story about the Jewish cops. It's great to hear of Jews who are modern day warriors (we need more tough Jews!). It also reminded me of Faye Kellerman's books - one of my absolute favorite characters is Jewish detective Peter Decker - I had the pleasure of hearing Faye and her writer-husband Jonathan speak at a Shaarei Tzedek fundraiser in Australia years ago and I've been a devoted fan of her books ever since!
Have a wonderful Shabbos!
Rachel
Posted by: Rachel at October 27, 2005 09:08 PM
Rachel:
Yup, the more Jewish warriors the better.
Posted by: Robert at October 28, 2005 08:36 AM