Sabbath Dinner

Friday night, we walked to a nearby house for Sabbath dinner with Tom Sawicki and his family. Sabbath remains a big deal even among secular Jews in Israel -- it is a quiet time to spend with friends and family, reflecting on the week. Starting befroe sundown, the country virtually shuts down -- few shops and restaurants are open, few cars are on the road.

It was a nice way to end our last full day in Israel. First, at the prompting of Tom's wife, we each shared a little more personal information about ourselves, as well as what most memorable about the week for us. We were served a fine catered meal, and everyone conversed with those around them. I talked primarily with Lee about travel, as well as with Tom's 20 year old son about his combined studies/military life (I'll say it again -- in Israel, young people have to grow up very, very fast). Further evidence of bipartisan comity (or comedy?) came when we also had a cake that some of the Dems had worked with AIEF to arrange in honor of Chip's birthday.


Because it caters to foreigners, the hotel bar was one of the few businesses still open, so we headed there (I know, shocking) to cap off the week. The bar wasn't open late, so we doubled up on our order. Once the booze ran out, we weren't ready to call it a night. So Maren tried to hunt down the key (apparently she's done that before) as we were profiles in courage and didn't lift a finger to help her. Finally one of the other members of the crew headed around the corner to the Hotel lobby and convinced (with generous tips, of course) a member of the hotel staff to open up the bar and pull out some additional Gold Star beers.

With a busy day looming, the rest of us called it a day around 1 am, although Maren and Aaron apparently got into some bottle cap flipping contest. There is no agreement between the two who won, but the rest of us agree that by not staying up an extra hours, we were the real winners of that pointless contest (Luckily for those who missed the highlights on SportsCenter, I'm sure there will be a rematch at the reunion).