End of Feast

Damascus Gate in festive mood

It's Eid el Fitri today ... the feasting that ends the month long fast of Ramadan. Crowds ... and I mean tens of thousands literally, thronged the Muslim Quarter and the Al Aqsa Mosque all night till 9am in the morning. We couldn't sleep. My window is barely 4 meters away from the main street where thousands walked passed. Even at 4am youths rode motorcycles up and down the street, blasting their exhaust. At 5.30 the muezzin was leading the chant of Allah Akbar some 50 more more times. Then by 8am prayers were over and everyone wanted to go home. The main streets were packed like sardines. It was frightening. I was unfortunately at M. Teresa's convent for Mass and I could not go home. My only hope was to cross the tsunami of people gong from my right to left by cutting across it and reaching the opposite alley. Easier said than done. A mere 3 meters distance but it took a lot of pushing and elbowing ... and receiving a lot of curses ... to reach it. But once there, it was another world. The street was quiet and empty ... and though it's a longer wy to get home ... it was the only way. So I slowly climbed the steps to the top of the eastern hill and then down the 100 steps of Ecce Homo to get home. Relief.

Empty alleys

Once after 9am the entire Muslim Quarter is deadly quiet. Everyone had gone home to sleep. Shops do not open. A dead city. Well I was also exhausted by 2 nights of lack of sleep. I tried to rest a couple of hours before lunch but calls to work just kept coming. Soon it'll be evening and I have to go to the other library to work and then visit a group on the Mt. of Olives. That means I miss the end of year barbecue of our school. Rats ... work has destroyed my community life.  

Well I hope to at least have a good night's sleep tonight because tomorrow morning I have a retreat to preach at 9am and then class at 10.30am and then confession from 4pm. The sisters told me that I am always giving, never saying no ... and all I get in return is exhaustion, problems, thankless ingratitude, complains ... so I must be chocking up points in heaven. Well actually I prefer a good vacation on earth before I die but that's an impossibility. But the act of little kindness makes life more bearable and consoling ... like Matthew and Karen's pineapple tarts, or your gifts of clothes and shoes and possibilities to eat a full warm meal once in a while. Really appreciate that.

Meantime the israeli implosion continues as the govt. might fall because ultra-orthodox parties are called to resign from govt. if a law is passed that does not exempt ultra-orthodox youths from serving military service. That will be earth-shaking.   https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5287449,00.html

And the jewish women who have been fighting to pray at the Wailing Wall as equals with men have led to more clashes this morning when the AG with the Wall's rabbi, forbade them.  https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5287506,00.html

But it's the viral video going around our country that has disturbed us and angered us the most ... the ultimate implosion of Judaism ... when an Israeli bus-driver refused an autistic man to board a bus. The poor guy was crying, sitting on the steps of the bus and clinging to the door handles while passengers argued with the driver but we're not sure what happened after. The video ended. When jews no longer have compassionate for each other ... what hope is there left?