Watching the Flag in Central Park

November 2, 2024
Day 393

Marathon weekend is my favorite weekend in NYC. Streets teem with visitors from around the world. Myriad languages fill the air. The city pulses with the energy of the sport which has no hitting, tripping, or tackling. From time to time, the enormity of the race (over 50K runners and 10K volunteers this year) interferes with the rhythm of life on race day. The yearly reminder from a running buddy of almost 20 years just landed in my phone, referencing a dog that ran across a Brooklyn Street right in front of us during the 26.2 mile race one year, almost sending me sprawling. Mishaps like those are nothing compared to the sense of camaraderie that palpably energizes the Big Apple on this weekend. People walk the streets with curiosity and excitement, stopping for photographs among the changing leaves on full display in the trees, handing cell phones over to strangers for photographs on street-corners, at subway entrances and in Central Park.

It’s uplifting to see the many country flags lining the final hundreds of meters of the course, as the road rises up towards the finish line by Tavern on the Green. This year, just in time for the fireworks, I was taken aback by the guard alongside the Israeli flag, just south of the 200 meter mark. 392 days since Hamas terrorists brutally massacred innocents and stole hundreds into the bowels of the earth in Gaza where 101 still await rescue, I was awash with emotion. I could barely squeak out thank you. My eyes filled with tears and my throat seemed to close. Tears poured from my eyes and into my mouth. It’s ok, the guard said, her voice echoing into the darkness of the night. “It” might have been my tears, my emotional state, or my loss for words. It might have referred to the presence of security on the marathon route designed specifically to watch over a sign of my identity and people. The words offered in kindness could have represented far more or less than I had the energy to muster in those moments. It may have been ok, but I was not. I walked home with the words of Peter Ciaccia, from his penultimate year as TCS New York City Marathon Race Director, ringing in my head. Today the spirit of humanity takes center stage. The spirit of humanity has no borders, only start lines (Nov. 5, 2017). To me, that stretch of road and the 26 miles that precede it are a sign of dignity and diversity, energy and endurance, respect and resilience. The spirit of humanity should not need external shomrim/guards, only the ones we set up within ourselves as people of drive and compassion, fellowship and hope.

I returned to the park the next morning and found the same guard watching over the Israeli flag. In the light of day, I thanked her for her service. She works for a security firm and did not know who hired her. We chatted briefly, she told me a guard was also placed by the Palestinian flag, and shared that those two flags were taken down in the evening and raised again each morning. I made my way to the Palestinian flag and asked the gentleman standing close by if he was there to guard the flag. Yes. He worked for a security firm and did not know who hired him. I thanked him for his service, told him the Israeli flag represented my people, and prayed next year we would not need guards to protect symbols of unity and peoplehood. His smile was the amen to my prayer.

Before I turned to walk home, I noticed the American flag for the first time in all my years of walking that route on marathon weekend. It waved in the wind, stars and stripes shining brightly, no shomer in sight. I pray this year’s race will be eventful in only good ways for the many runners, friends and family members, volunteers and spectators throughout the five boroughs. I pray the 150+ runners organized by the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, travelling the streets with the names Naama, Doron, Evyatar, Ohad and Edan emblazoned on their chests to honor the 5 passionate runners held captive in Gaza, and others with signs and pictures of our stolen family will draw change-making attention. I pray this new month the world will put humanity at the forefront and fight against hate with the strength and energy used to hate. I pray that when I put on my volunteer jacket tomorrow morning it is the last time I have to place a piece of masking tape marking the days of captivity of the hostages over my heart. I pray, long before the next marathon, we merit a time where instead of guarding flags, we take responsibility for watching over one another with care, compassion and love. #BringThemHomeNOW

@RabbiLisaGelber
November 2, 2024/2 Marheshvan 5785