Every year we spend the night of Shvuot with friends.  We used to discuss the Bible but have gotten tired of it in recent years, and talk more about recipes and politics.  Tonight we had a missile warning around 4:30 in the afternoon and were a bit discombobulated about getting into a holiday spirit on time.  The Houtis seem to know exactly when we’re vulnerable, and although they favor any hour of the night, they also aim for times when the kids are off to school, or when we are having weekly family dinners, or on holidays.

As a friend from the US pointed out to me when I told him that this holiday was celebrating the giving of the torah, there is a law about not killing.  He was being subtle because we have been friends for 6o odd years, but I understood that I’m being blamed for murder, and I have been doing what I can to change the situation, as have all the other people I know, but we are in a corner.  completely.