Why should I care?
I was born on April 19/ 26 Nissan 1982, but my Birthday is on December 1/17 Kislev 2004.
Before you label me a loony, let me explain.
On Motzai Shabboss (Saturday night), December 1, 2004 I was in a suicide bomb attack in Israel. I had just finished helping my friends who had a band. They were called the Havdalah Band. They used to play on Motzai Shabbos on Ben Yehuda Street. First they would make a public Havdallah (a prayer to glorify the separation between Shabboss and the rest of the week), then they would play Jewish music, much to the enjoyment of all who would be near.
This time they were also being judged as too whether or not they would get a permit to play.
At about 11:30 pm a lady who lived in a 2nd floor apartment on Ben Yehuda Street asked us to stop playing, she was trying to sleep. For most the reaction would have been to say " how can you expect to go to sleep so early on a Saturday night? And in the Heart of "town" too! The Nerve!" and most would have played on anyway.
We stopped.
We then went to Cafe Rimon for some food. It was only 30 feet away from where we were playing. Now for those of you who are not familiar with Cafe Rimon, they have a dairy side as well as a meaty side. we went to the meaty side which was also closer to where we played. They also have an outdoor cafe area that becomes "dairy only" at about 1:00 am. When my friends and I used to go we would always sit in the outdoor area on the meaty side. For some unknown reason they decided to switch to "dairy only" at 11:00 pm. No problem we were willing to eat dairy as long as we got our table which was situated on the outdoor "meaty" side which was now a dairy side do to a switch in table cloth. Our table was taken. We ended up sitting in the doorway of the meaty side, this way we would still get fresh air. We moved our table pretty much outside - only the tall glass doors which opened outward was next to our table, one on each side.
At 11:45 pm a short 15 minutes after we "closed shop" there was a double suicide attack. One of the bombers stood exactly in the spot we occupied when playing. Our table outside - the one that was taken -had no survivors. Every piece of glass in a 300 foot radius shattered - exept those two glass doors. I still remember the nuts, bolts, and screws embedded in the glass. Those doors saved our lives. 18 people were killed. Some were more than 50 feet away. No-one from our group was physically injured. I say physically because the image in our minds will always be there, the memory will always be close.
Why did I tell you this story?
The reason we were saved was because we cared about the feeling of one person who seemingly "had no right" to ask us to stop playing so she can go to sleep.
How many people really care? how many say "Why should I care" so they can continue having fun?
Before you label me a loony, let me explain.
On Motzai Shabboss (Saturday night), December 1, 2004 I was in a suicide bomb attack in Israel. I had just finished helping my friends who had a band. They were called the Havdalah Band. They used to play on Motzai Shabbos on Ben Yehuda Street. First they would make a public Havdallah (a prayer to glorify the separation between Shabboss and the rest of the week), then they would play Jewish music, much to the enjoyment of all who would be near.
This time they were also being judged as too whether or not they would get a permit to play.
At about 11:30 pm a lady who lived in a 2nd floor apartment on Ben Yehuda Street asked us to stop playing, she was trying to sleep. For most the reaction would have been to say " how can you expect to go to sleep so early on a Saturday night? And in the Heart of "town" too! The Nerve!" and most would have played on anyway.
We stopped.
We then went to Cafe Rimon for some food. It was only 30 feet away from where we were playing. Now for those of you who are not familiar with Cafe Rimon, they have a dairy side as well as a meaty side. we went to the meaty side which was also closer to where we played. They also have an outdoor cafe area that becomes "dairy only" at about 1:00 am. When my friends and I used to go we would always sit in the outdoor area on the meaty side. For some unknown reason they decided to switch to "dairy only" at 11:00 pm. No problem we were willing to eat dairy as long as we got our table which was situated on the outdoor "meaty" side which was now a dairy side do to a switch in table cloth. Our table was taken. We ended up sitting in the doorway of the meaty side, this way we would still get fresh air. We moved our table pretty much outside - only the tall glass doors which opened outward was next to our table, one on each side.
At 11:45 pm a short 15 minutes after we "closed shop" there was a double suicide attack. One of the bombers stood exactly in the spot we occupied when playing. Our table outside - the one that was taken -had no survivors. Every piece of glass in a 300 foot radius shattered - exept those two glass doors. I still remember the nuts, bolts, and screws embedded in the glass. Those doors saved our lives. 18 people were killed. Some were more than 50 feet away. No-one from our group was physically injured. I say physically because the image in our minds will always be there, the memory will always be close.
Why did I tell you this story?
The reason we were saved was because we cared about the feeling of one person who seemingly "had no right" to ask us to stop playing so she can go to sleep.
How many people really care? how many say "Why should I care" so they can continue having fun?
posted by oose | 9:14 AM
4 Comments:
Woah. That's insane. (I think I have heard your story before, though if you're a friend of TL that makes sense.)
Wow - what a great story, and what a great lesson!
Goosebumps!
I do wonder though, what of the people who were sitting at your "usual" table?
In any case - clearly, we should care.
Re: Chana: I do wonder though, what of the people who were sitting at your "usual" table?
They were all murdered Al Kiddush HaShem
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