Wednesday, October 9, 2019

Yom Kippur afternoon: The street is crowded with children on tricycles and skateboards. There's almost no traffic. Two police cars creep down the road toward each other. When they meet, the drivers get out and talk. An ambulance, lights blazing, moves silently but more swiftly around a corner. People get out of the way. I expect the center of town to be more crowded than the streets further out, but it isn't. Even the 24/7 market and the eateries open on the Sabbath are closed. Electric bicycles roll past the storefronts, pedaled, not powered. Traffic signals follow their usual patterns of clicks and colors. Everyone ignores them. TV stations are off the air, showing a silent image with a holiday greeting and a note saying when they'll be back. I sit downtown for a while, outside the Great Synagogue. When evening services begin, though, I decide not to go in. Tired and with a headache from fasting and walking, I head home.