麻豆约拍

From Laura Marks, a campaigner for social action and interfaith relationships.听
I鈥檓 not a superhero. I鈥檓 not a 100 year old veteran raising 拢30m, I鈥檓 not a front line doctor and I haven鈥檛 cooked dozens of fresh hot meals and delivered them to careworkers 鈥� luckily for them. In fact, like so many people I know, I鈥檓 just getting by in a very weird and imperfect situation which feels a bit like Groundhog day.听
Every morning I wake up - late - and struggle into my shower. Whilst my ritual hair drying is immutable, pretty much everything else is up for grabs - as standards in my overpopulated house decline weekly I can鈥檛 remember which day of the week we are up to 鈥� whose turn it is to tackle the washing mountain or how many potatoes are left in the fridge before I need to go foraging for more and meanwhile the lockdown days roll by.听听
When we reach Friday at least, I log thankfully into the shabbat service in exhausted and dazed gratitude for a change in the pace. I am doing a little to show appreciation for the real heroes with Hand clapping tomorrow and today, to my kids embarrassment,听 I鈥檒l wheel my old fashioned flowery trolley up and down our street, collecting a few groceries听 from our generous neighbours which I鈥檒l drag to the foodbank at the local church. Last week, the local coordinator, Emma, came to the church door.听听
She scooped up my donations in her plastic gloved hands and thanked me profusely.听 It was just a few groceries, but her thanks, so warm and big-hearted, made me feel good, like I had given the world. Dating back centuries, the Jewish bible teaches us Love your Neighbour as yourself, the golden rule which is at the heart of people of all faiths and of no faith. Emma reminded me that these small acts of kindness, which in Judaism we call Mitzvahs, are about more than our neighbours, they are about ourselves too.听听
With a few tins of pear quarters, a jar of coffee and admittedly a rarely seen and even more rarely donated bleach spray I gave a little back.听 Whilst Emma made me feel just for one moment like a mini, tiny, hands-on, coronavirus hero, women like her, deserve to feel it day in and day out 鈥� Groundhog day or not.