The other day I was preparing for Yom Kippur. One of the things I had to do was to iron the clothes I was going to wear that evening. Since I am physiologically incapable of ironing without having a television on in the room, I turned on the TV and up came channel 2. Someone was talking to some political figure about the recent war and its political implications. SWITCH. Channel 1 had another person talking with another political figure about the recent war and its political implications. SWITCH. On channel 4 cars were racing through the streets, driving up on curbs, and bursting into flames. SWITCH. Oh my soul…. here I am ironing white in the hopes that my sins will be forgiven and everywhere I step, there is dirt!
And then I went to Star World and they were showing the Miss World contest. Arrayed on the stage were a hundred beautiful young women, all with the blush of good health, youth, and wholesomeness. Not only that, but these young women had spent a significant amount of time interacting with each other, smiling, posing, and looking beautiful. They weren’t debating nuclear armaments or territorial issues. They were fixing their hair and adjusting their makeup and pushing up their attributes to make more appealing decollatages. They were thinking about curing the sick and educating the illiterate and giving food to the needy and bringing world peace. And as hokey as it always seemed to me in the past, that day, it seemed perfect. I saw good will, kindness, optimism, and hope. It was a wonderful way to approach the holiest of days.
