As Israel led the world in inoculating its citizens against COVID-19 – earning the new title, “vaccination nation” – I got my first Pfizer shot on 23 December and the second on 13 January at Jerusalem’s Pais Arena, with Maccabi Healthcare Services, one of Israel’s four health funds. The process was super-efficient, taking less than half an hour in both cases. I recalled the prayer of gratitude by Rabbi Naomi Levy I had read a day earlier on Scribe:
A prayer for receiving the COVID vaccine
I have been praying for this day and now it is here!
With great excitement, a touch of trepidation
And with deep gratitude
I give thanks
To all the scientists who toiled day and night
So that I might receive this tiny vaccination
That will protect me and all souls around this world.
With the pandemic still raging
I am blessed to do my part to defeat it.
Let this be the beginning of a new day,
A new time of hope, of joy, of freedom
And most of all, of health.
I thank You, G-d, for blessing me with life
For sustaining my life
And for enabling me to reach this awe-filled moment.
A Facebook post by my friend, Neichu Mayer, drove the point home. “The year 2020 has taught us some very important lessons in life – that caring is the best profession, that family and community are all you have when everything else in life turns upside down, that the world is connected far beyond borders, that suffering and pain and the collective desire for health and healing unite us more than our common economic interests, and most importantly, when we care enough and share enough, we can triumph over our biggest and darkest fears together!”
While Israel seeks to stem an alarming rise in coronavirus cases during its third tightened lockdown and braces for its fourth election in two years on 23 March, it has succeeded in vaccinating more than two million of its nine million citizens, more than 25%! Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has pledged to vaccinate all Israelis over the age of 16 by the end of March. Having lost several friends to COVID-19, including our beloved Hebrew teacher in Durban, Issy Fisher, my heart goes out to those who are suffering from the disease, grief, and psychological and economic hardship. My prayer is that we will start seeing the light at the end of the tunnel by Passover. This is a time to help one another and be grateful for what we have. An attitude of gratitude is a powerful antidote to our current woes.
- Steve Linde is the editor of the Jerusalem Report and lives in Jerusalem. He hails from Durban.
