By Shelly Fabian The drive home was nerve-racking. Stopping at rest spots was chaotic. Overnighting at hotels we wiped down everything. Food was take-out, tasteless and cold. We felt as if we were at war with an invisible germ. Our ammunition was Lysol. After our two-week quarantine at home, we moved to our Eastern Townships cottage and stayed there for six months. Stress free, clean air, long walks, no grocery hoarding happy neighbours and thanks to the internet, all the Zooming in the world. I had always been curious about last century’s Spanish Flu, to the point that I had once questioned my grandmother about it. She was living in Austria during that time and told me that it never reached her city. Now I understand every thing I need to know about that pandemic because of this one. What has changed me? I am definitely feeling more Jewish than ever in my life. Through the miracle of technology I attend more Shabbat services, enlightening talks offered by thought-provoking Dorshei Emet members and even global conferences in Italian from Sicily. Check-in phone calls and Shabbat meals during quarantine allowed me to greater appreciate my Dorshei Emet community. Most importantly is the weekly comfort I derive from Rabbi Dolin’s positive messages. On a personal level, a book I have been writing for almost 10 years is close to completion. I made it my Covid-19 goal. I ask myself what the Spanish Flu experience really would have felt like for my 19-year old grandmother and her family, with barely a telephone? It is not about what we cannot do during the pandemic; it is about what we can do in this age of advanced electronics.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorYou! The Dorshei Emet Community. Archives
November 2020
Categories |