Shabbat Shalom

I got to experience a wonderful Friday night Shabbat dinner with some new friends tonight. It was one of the best social gatherings I've experienced in Chiang Mai. A small group of people from all parts of the world from my age to about 60 years old; all walks of life. We each brought a vegetarian dish to share and set our feast on a yoga mat on the floor and sat around the 'table.' Myself and the other female present lit the candles (because women are holier than men, of course), and we were asked to say a blessing for all those in the room. I usually get nervous about being asked to say profound words on the spot, but I simply thanked the host for the beautiful dinner and said we'll have peace while we eat and enjoy each other's company tonight and that peace will take us into the Sabbath tomorrow.

Then there was the blessing of the wine, but since the host doesn't drink alcohol, we blessed a glass of soy milk. We were making jokes seeing who could turn the soy milk into wine...no such luck. Then the bread was blessed and broken and each person took a piece and sprinkled with salt to recognize the destruction of Solomon's temple, where the salt represents the tears shed over the loss. Another prayer was sung by the older fellows who could read Hebrew, and a poem was read to bless the women in the room.

Finally we were ready to eat and we continued eating and chatting for hours. Lots of delicious Thai food that no one admitted to cooking themselves. We all bought the dishes we brought off the street because no one has a kitchen, and the Thai vendors are way better at making food than we will ever be!

The best part of the evening was over chocolate and ice cream where the host was so eloquently talking about his experiences in the last week when he was sitting down with a Hindu priest, another day he was having a discussion with a Buddhist monk, and here he was celebrating Shabbat with a wonderful group of people in his home. He simply put, "We're all trying to say the same thing, and that's a beautiful thing." That's one of the greatest things that I'm learning (and loving) about Chiang Mai. People here are so interesting and on any given day, you're able to make a new friend walking down the street or learn something in the most unexpected times and places. Or you may even find yourself celebrating the Jewish day of rest amidst a yoga mat feast, sincerely wishing peace upon and blessing complete strangers, but finding inexplicable comfort and beauty all the while.