Reflections on New Year’s Eve

Last night, I went to a party.

It was fun.

Music was playing, people were drinking, and everyone was having a good time.

I am always wary when I go out these days.

The probability of encountering someone playacting and partying for Hamas is getting towards 100%, so, when I do socialize, I am always wary.

But luckily, last night, no one said anything.

For a little over 3 hours, I didn’t hear anything about Israel or Palestine or anything. I was almost ready to let my guard down.

The music was bumping, I was shlumping, and I was getting ready to go home.

Someone put on “War Pigs” by Black Sabbath, and the partiers with more energy than me began to dance.

During the guitar solo, someone on the dance floor screamed, “FREE PALESTINE,” and I just began to laugh.

This was probably the last party I will go to in LA for a very long time, and there was just something so perfect about this ending.

My friend turned to me and said, “you know, it’s actually kind of amazing we got this far – if we were at any other party in LA, we would have heard that the moment we walked in.”

And he was right.

I wasn’t upset that someone, with absolutely no skin in the game, decided to yell “FREE PALESTINE,” reminding me that, for 400 and g-d knows how many days, our loved ones have been held hostage by people chanting the very same slogans.

As much as I want to put people who say stuff like that in their place, I have had to pick my battles and conserve my energy.

I let it roll off my back, went home, and got some sleep.

But then a funny thing happened when I looked at my phone this morning.

I looked at my phone, and I saw that there was a terrorist attack in New Orleans last night.

A terrorist attack that was committed at the exact same minute that this kid yelled “FREE PALESTINE.”

Pure reason might say that these two events were completely coincidental and had no bearing on one another, but reason of a higher sort would say otherwise.

I am not sure what to make of this whole thing.

It feels dreadfully significant in a way that I cannot quite understand, and I cannot shake this feeling that the fate of the coming year will be determined by our ability to make sense of these things.

~

Spread Love, Spread Light,

Am Yisrael Chai