The Truth in Rainbows and Funerals
by Jerry Waxman
It’s easy to not like Sderot. Wow, what a thing to say about this town that I chose to live in. The sad truth is I haven’t met anyone who is in love with the town. People here have shown me reasons to believe that there are better places.
The most pungent reason is that Sderot literally smells bad. The original sewer system was not meant to service more than a few thousand residents. Sderot has an estimated 20,000 people who live and work here. The trouble with sewage often expresses itself in little streams of water crossing the streets. It more often expresses itself with an odor that pervades the air particularly in my neighborhood.
Another thing about Sderot is the people. On the whole you’d have to say they are a friendly bunch. However, when you see them in action everyday, facades of friendliness somehow disappear, and people let their stress out on one another.
Enough said about the negatives. More than enough.
The real point is, I have been trying to find a way to stay here and am failing to find even a good reason. Nobody answers my applications to work. The only reason that comes to mind is they only hire people they know, regardless of qualifications.
Reminds me of last year’s political campaigns, when I went to Davidi’s campaign headquarters twice to get involved. Nobody even approached me to ask me to vote for Davidi. When I approached them, the attitude was, “I don’t know you. Not gonna talk to you.”
Okay, enough with the negatives. My mind has been plagued lately with thoughts of leaving Sderot. Even of leaving the country if I get a decent job offer.
This last Shabbat was Parashat Noach, the story of the ark, the animals, and the flood that destroyed the world. It was also a yahrzeit weekend for me, which is always a reminder of my obligations to those who came before me. Even before the Shabbat, I was in a supermarket buying, amongst other things, a memorial candle. And it crossed my mind, “Only in Israel will you find a supermarket like this.”
I went to the Bukhari synagogue and they gave me the fifth aliya to the Torah. It was kind of a short passage. I noticed it mentioned a rainbow, G-d’s sign to Noah. And I thought, “What a beautiful way to remember those who have passed on.”
Torah Insights at
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After the service my friends taught me that the rainbow is not a good sign at all. It is beautiful to look at. But a complete rainbow is a reminder of the flood that destroyed the world. We’re not supposed to stare and marvel at it.
A hard truth. But truth is truth, whether you like it or don’t. Besides, it never rains in Sderot. I haven’t seen a rainbow since I’ve been here.
Yesterday, a funeral was held a block away from my apartment. I went because the deceased was somebody from the Parsi (Iranian) synagogue, where I often go. I didn’t know the man. But in Israel, when someone dies, it’s family, no matter who you are. In this case, he was a well respected man who came from Iran, and kept all the Jewish traditions, and went to synagogue every day.
During the funeral, which was attended by a couple hundred men and women, including several Torah scholars and rabbis, I sat on a nearby bench and observed. While eulogies were spoken, I could see comic-strip-like balloons over everybody’s head. They all had the same words, “When my time comes, what will they say about me?”
Will they say I left Israel to find a job? Will they say I left Sderot because it smells bad?
Truth is truth, and we live with it in Israel perhaps more than any other place in the world. Where else would we find people leaving their workplaces in the middle of the day to attend a funeral. Where else would a neighborhood build a tent in a parking lot and lead a procession down the middle of the street to honor one of its elders?
The truth is, a rainbow is a beautiful thing to behold, but it has a horrible episode behind it. Sderot may have its outward ugliness, but it has some beautiful lives and stories inside of it.
I don’t know if I’ll end up staying here or not. One thing is for sure, though. No regrets about being here. There are more positive things about Sderot than negative; just that the positive things tend to stay quiet.
