There we were, in the Peer Inn, a San Francisco
bar and restaurant, for our usual breakfast meeting. About fifteen
of us were going over the week's Torah portion with our rabbi
leading us in a free-wheeling session sitting around a big round
table with a view of the Bay. We had been meeting for ten years
or so with the same format. A great bunch of guys, mostly in our
50's.
This particular morning was freezing cold.
A fairly young woman came into the restaurant carrying a filthy
blanket, obviously in distress, a homeless person. Gus, the owner,
sprang into action and escorted this poor creature out. What did
she want, something to eat? A cup of coffee? To use the bathroom?
We sat there "on our hands" discussing
the Torah.
We witnessed the exchange she had
with Gus, the owner, who sent her back out in the cold. Not a
even a cup of coffee.