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I have a goal to improve myself. The meeting was my best chance to change my life. Deciding on something this important and carrying it out is never easy. I knew there would be barriers.
I was running late and needed to rush, but there were three interruptions, the first before I even got past the door of the gathering place. One group meets there at 8:30 in the morning, and the next at 9:30, but Etan said he could help me with my spiritual elevation if I arrived at 9:00 AM.
For some reason, I overslept, even though I never do. I left in a hurry, hoping to still be able to arrive on time.
The door to the gathering place usually has an armed guard, but he wasn’t there on that day. After I passed the fancy sports cars on the ramp that leads to the driveway, street, and stairs to the community gathering area, two men, taller than me, with beards, stopped me before I had a chance to ring the bell to get into that part of the building. They asked whether I knew anything about the kosher chocolate chip muffins sold at the lobby coffee stand, right near the sliding doors at the front entrance. From this question, I gathered that the two were staying in the hotel, like me. But I had never tried the muffins and told them that I wasn’t sure who inspected the food at the hotel. One gave me a look that suggested (to me anyway) that I was a person of low intelligence. The other nodded as if agreeing with me, and said “We wouldn’t eat them anyway”, then turned away indicating our conversation was over.
Then I was able to ring the bell, and the buzzer sounded to let me into the gathering place. Just as I moved forward to open the door, a hand weakly gripped the middle of the bicep of my left arm. A bearded man in a black suit and wide-brimmed hat had stopped me from entering the building and began talking in a language I did not understand, perhaps French. I noticed that one of his worn-looking shoes was untied. He realized I did not know what he was saying, then switched to English punctuated with his language. He requested money, possibly for himself or an organization, but I couldn’t quite understand him and it was hard to pay attention because I was worried and already late for the nine o’clock lesson. Since this was as far as I wanted to go with the conversation, I told the bearded man I had brought no money with me. After receiving the second skeptical look of the day, he said it was not a problem, I could use my credit card. Congratulating myself for fast thinking, I said “My wife won’t let me do that”. Surprisingly, he appeared to completely understand this excuse and walked away.
I rang the bell again and when the buzzer went off, I quickly entered through the door before anyone else could stop me from getting in. I wanted to see Etan for my spiritual lesson, and being late, I was looking rapidly around the entranceway to try to figure out where he was. Another beggar, a short middle-aged woman with a face cragged with lines of worry, appeared from a corner of the room and approached me speaking Hebrew.
She realized that I did not understand her and switched to English, which she spoke well.
“I need money. My daughter is about to get married, but I am unable to afford for her to stand under the canopy. Can you help me out?” As before, I explained that I did not bring money with me but did express concern to her about her situation. “What?” she asked, looking at me as if I was crazy. “I need money!”. Taking out a flip phone, she said “Give me your number, and you can pay me on Zell”. I told her “My wife wouldn’t let me do that”, but she argued with me about this point in an agitated voice until the Rabbi came over and began speaking softly to her. He said “Toi et moi devrions avoir une conversation tranquille” and walked her out of the room.
I was now very late for the meeting because of useless delays.
I looked directly in front of me. There were the doors to the sanctuary. When I opened them, Etan was standing patiently waiting to start our lesson.
However, I was so worried about being late, that I was unable to concentrate on what Etan was telling me. Services were scheduled to start in a few minutes and others from the hotel and the surrounding community had arrived and were filling the sanctuary.
Sensing my restlessness and unease, Etan said “Let’s start again tomorrow”.
Then he turned to the East, stood in front of the group in the Sanctuary, and led them in the morning prayers.
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Eli Daniel Ehrenpreis started life as a musician and then became a physician, educator, and researcher. He stopped seeing patients after major surgery. He has published many scientific papers and six medical books. His poetry and short stories are published in Reapparition, Pharos, Medicine and Meaning Journal, Hektoen International, 101 Words, and Star 82 Review. His creative writing centers around his experiences in academic medicine with strong influences from IB Singer and Joseph Agnon. He lives with his wife Ana and a little dog named Fili in Skokie, Illinois.