The day before, a series of tornadoes had torn through the state. On the same day Bishop McDonald of the Arkansas diocese, who was to have led the March for Life here in Arkansas, had needed a quintuple bypass. The impeachment trial continued. Winds and whirlwinds. In this sanctuary, there is respite.
People drift in and out, saying silently whatever people say in prayer.
And there are exactly 10 of them at the moment. Just enough to make what Jews call a minyan, the number needed to hold a service, rather than pray individually. You need 10 to say the kaddish together, the prayer for the dead that doesn't mention death, but only praises the G-d of life. I remember waiting for the 10th man in the back of my father's store when one of the neighboring merchants had a yahrzeit, the anniversary of a death in the family, and needed nine other Jews for evening prayers. That way, the kaddish could be said together.