The Jewish Zip Code

Yesterday it was 87 degrees in The Hill Country. They say "if you don't like the weather in Texas stick around, it changes all the time." Today, it was chipper at 31 and as the reports were changing quickly. I decided to take off for the Jewish Zip Code, where it may be warmer and friends who can put up with me for the night would know what to do if they awoke to find me frozen to death, take their kids to violin practice.

Once I exit the mayhem, and turn down the street, everything begins to feel better, my neck cranes to look around. The Kosher store is one block away now. The JCC is on my right, down that street. The Rabbi lives only blocks from me now and the other Rabbi and the Chazen are here too, everyone can walk to shul. A Jewish couple opened a flower shop here, close to home I am sure. My friend's place is up on a hill and from the back deck, the view is of the capitol city's hub in transit is preoccupied with motion. As I look out over the trees, I imagine so many Jews trying to get home.

Our friend works at the JCC as a swim Coach and since her kids' Jewish Academy relocated back to the Jewish Zip Code, everything she loves is right next door, except for us. We live in the Baptist Zip Code, 37 miles south west from this plush spot.

Our town is small with only 2 traffic lights. The second light was decided on and installed just 2 years ago, give or take a season as a young boy was struck by a driver while he was walking home from school. His mother was right, we needed a light there, nu? It's there now and thank G-D the boy was not killed. He can still walk home should he wish to do so.

Living this far away from the Jewish Zip Code has turned out to be good for us in a very Jewish way. We are in galute and this particular exile as it is self imposed has done wonders for our sense of place. We have a home now. It's small place, neighboring a nature preserve and a natural spring that makes the heat forgivable when the weather goes in that G-D forgiving direction. Our mizuzot are on our door posts as directed by Torah law and not one local friend or neighbor has ever made mention of them though, they don't notice them at all.

When our Jewish Zip Code friends first came out to visit us in "the land of the new version," our anticipation was high, we went to the door quickly as we could hear them yell out, "look for the mizuzah...." as they were searching for our place. When we opened the door to greet our Jewish Zip Code friends, I thanked G-D for the Torah on posting it "as a sign upon our door posts and our gates," for without the mizuzah that tells G-D that our home is a Jewish home, our friends may not have known eithher when looking from the outside and they may have stopped too soon at another home and could have been invited in by other people.

These folks may have offered the adults a cold beer and the children would have for sure, been trained in football and in hunting but not before the Lord's Prayer and perhaps a benediction. It can happen that fast, once a people are in galute, exile can be a long ride out to where old is good and new again is actually unknown.

The only reason that we have for staying in the Baptist Zip Code is the price of our home and the property tax rate, gavalt already and nu? We could not afford to be Jewish other wise and the friends who know and appreciate this come visit. They don't fret about the difference in degrees that causes dynamic weather reports from one Zip Code the next and they don't mention the shlepp. They see the mizuzah and they know that they are as close to home as galute, exile, allows. Exile is one thing, property values are something else all together. In our landscape, our Jewish Zip Code friends are cause enough for our neighbors to come outside and say "Shalom Y'all," regardless of the weather, we love that about them!