A chance encounter

Yesterday late afternoon I was chatting on the phone to an old friend who has contracted Coronavirus for 2 weeks. It’s wiped him out though fortunately did not reach his lungs.

My friend, though Jewish, holds somewhat passionate atheist views. One matter we discussed in this context was that my nephew – a rabbi – caught the virus at the celebration of the festival of Purim. Purim means lots as cast by Persian King Haman to determine which Jews shall perish.

Notwithstanding its genocide, it is something of a carnival in which kids dress up and adults make merry.

The festival of Chanukah has its first night known as Seder this Thursday and Jewish people, however religious, have been instructed to isolate.

Given Chanukah celebrates the Jews leaving Egypt in such haste they could not complete the baking of bread but ate it unleavened, hence matzoh, this isolation must be onerous especially as the Seder meal is both social and rich in symbolism and ritual.

The conductor of the service, normally the father, will hide a piece of matzoh known as the afekomen which one of the children will steal and the father pays a bribe for its return without which the service cannot proceed.

At 6 pm I had to interrupt the call as my entryphone had buzzed.

Whom did I see on the porch but a man in face mask and skull cap and mask bearing food for the seder table. It was the Rabbi of my synagogue congregation, which I have yet to attend. I was struck as much by the coincidence of his arrival in the course of our conversation as the kindness of the gift.