Shabbat dinner conversation

 "It wasn't really a retreat, it was 

really hardcore. No frills." he

 says. "What's your daily meditation 

practice?"

I was confused what "retreat" means to him,

and I'm not interested in competing,

and I love teachings that allow

to be really careful with this kind of sharing.

But that didn't come to mind 

and I said something else, 

something mild and not much.

Later on, he continued, "I found a therapist

I finally think will work, I've fired three. 

This one is a Sephardi Jew, like us." 

I thought about my experiences navigating

our Sephardi identity, and how rooted in place 

it is. Trying to connect, I asked, "From which 

region?"

He looks down on me, somehow, from 

right next to me. Like it was distasteful that I 

took up the space to ask. "She's my therapist, 

so I wouldn't know." 

I only thought of a response the next day.

So how the fuck do you know she's a 

Sephardi Jew like us?