A Final Word About Today

I asked a dear friend of mine to save me a seat the Bikur Cholim luncheon today (see previous post) so when I got there and it was mobbed, all I had to do was find my friend and put my purse down. I was then sent off to get food.

Before actually joining the buffet line, I dashed over to the exhibitors. There was a chef there with a big plate of cactus salad for us to sample. I was so excited - finally an opportunity to try what the locals here called nopales. They are oblong, flat prickly pear cactus denuded of spikes and grilled or sauteed to add to tossed salad.

I had a quick conversation with the chef, mentioning to all around me that nopales, the term used to refer to prickly pear cactus in Spanish, is a local remedy for elevated blood sugar. Of course I also mentioned that I thought it was interesting that Hispanics, which have a genetic tendency toward diabetes due to a mutated allele, live in a country where this cactus abounds.

The chef smiled, and everyone around me went about their business in much the same way most people would when they hear something talking about their encounter with space aliens. I decided I really need to keep some information to myself, and vowed to do so whenever so challenged.

I tried the nopales salad, and thanked the Holy One, Blessed Be He, that I don't have diabetes. Or maybe it just needed a different dressing. Still, I think it's amazing how G-d puts the cure to the disease right where it's needed.

What A DayThis Was

I got the rare opportunity today to go from one mitzvah to the next. The day began with a bris milah, welcoming the son of a cousin into the covenant of Hashem. Ah bliss. The baby was cute and cuddly, hardly cried, and the mohel passed the time working on his stand-up monologue.

At first I was a bit put off by it. This is an important moment for the baby and his parents. Why all the jokes? But when I looked around, I realized that the mohel was really playing to the crowd, a mixed bag of seculars who really wanted to have lunch.

How secular were they? They thought my husband was a rabbi, which never happens in our crowd. In truth, it's a big deal for people who have little tradition in their lives to have an orthodox bris for their son, and I was proud of them. Even thought the baby's father looked like he was going to faint, and had to be helped to a chair, they did the right thing.

Since the food wasn't really kosher (they call it kosher-style here), I had my family drop me off at the annual Bikur Cholim luncheon, a stunning array of food and exhibits to raise money for an incredible organization. Ladies, I have to say, you are amazing. But unfortunately, it's an organization for women who are not otherwise engaged - in other words, don't have a full time job and/or have the financial resources to devote themselves to a spur of the moment request for help.

I am, unfortunately, not one of these women. But I thank the Holy One, Blessed Be He, that these women exist, and they live in my neighborhood. Ladies, you rule.