Autumn

Bread seller

It's been getting chilly and humid this week. The dew is heavy in the morning and the stone pavements are wet and slippery. People are wearing hoodies and jackets. The autumn harvest has begun and because autumn here is very short - only a couple of weeks - winter will soon start. We hope this year it'll rain and even snow. We need it as last winter here was no rain at all.

Schools open and close depending on the situation of the war, and the jewish feasts. Borders were closed on the jewish New Year last week, and will close again today for the Day of Atonement for several days over the weekend. Some of my workers will not be able to come to work ... our institutes will be running on half the personnel; lessons will be taught online. People try to live as normal as they can. This morning on my way to work, there was a bread seller with bread (called ka'ek) on his head, walking 1km out into the open market at Damascus Gate to sell it. Each piece used to cost 4 shekels but now I'm not sure. It's probably higher now.

Our monastery in Tyre which served as a station for passing refugees from south Lebanon has closed due to the encroaching danger of bombings. Everyone has moved to our other monastery in Beirut further north. It's a little more secure but missiles have no eyes and no one can guarantee one won't land near or on the monastery. The friars there continue to provide food, water and shelter to passing refugees but we don't know for how long this will continue as food is running out.