A Shabbat at the beach but guests fail to show
There were two hundred chairs at one long table, with the photo of each guest at the back of a chair.
But the chairs remained unoccupied as members of Sydney’s Jewish community stood in the sunshine of Bondi Beach crestfallen, looking at photos of the 200 hostages remaining captive in Gaza by Hamas.
About 500 men, women and children listed to addresses from Rabbi Yehoram Ulman and co-CEO of The Executive Council of Australian Jewry Alex Ryvchin.
They sang Kabbalat Shabbat. A man donned his tefillin. They held large placards of hostages, including a tiny baby.
It was a sombre moment in time before the crowd broke up and headed for their homes to sit down at a Shabbat table with the chairs occupied with those they loved.
Waverley Councillors Steven Lewis, Leon Goltsman and Tony Kaye
Those empty chairs screaming absence resound within … a fine way to both think of the hostages and get the significance across.