A fighting chance

As a South African, I see things everyday that most of us- including myself- take for granted. As a Jew, there is another layer to my being and as an Israeli yet another- another lens through which I can observe the world. The combination of these qualities gives me the unique opportunity to experience things in a way that others in my position wouldn’t be able to.

The recent loss of a close family friend found us at his funeral, surrounded by all those who loved and cherished this kind soul. A Jewish man married to the woman he had always claimed had saved his life; a man who never saw religion or race as a barrier between two human beings.

Many of us were walking in a daze as the procession led on when the Rabbi suddenly stopped and asked if there were any among us who would like to be pallbearers during the final stages in honour of the man who had passed.

The majority of men that stepped up were not Jews, but were Muslim and Christian, each one in unfamiliar territory yet each more than willing to don that kippah and lift the casket, purely out of respect for the man that they had known.

In that moment it struck me that often we get so caught up in a conflict that is happening on the other side of the world, that we very often lose sight of the very real miracles that take place in front of us every day. There are many who wouldn’t give a second thought to such a sight but there are those of us who come from parts of the world where this picture is humbling. To my way of thinking, if more saw it, if more believed in it, then we might actually have a fighting chance of accomplishing something great before it becomes too late.