LOCKED IN -- OR LOCKED OUT?

Motzei Shabbos…….

Es geyt shoin avek der heiliger shabbos,
In shtibel is lichtig, in shtibel is shtil,
Dee Mama zugt shtil der “got fin Avruhom”
Zee zugt dee t’filla mit hartz un gefeel…
Oy – Got Fin Avruhom, fin Yitzchak in Yaakov
Farnem shoyn mayn tifilah in dayn himlicher geshtel
Inn shik shoen mayn mazel
Un reef oys mayn broche,
Az lichtig sohl veren iber dee gantze velt.

(TRANSLATION)

The holy day of Shabbos is now departing
In the room it is bright, in the room it is silent,
Mothers whisper the “God of Abraham”
They whisper the prayer with whole heart and feeling.
Oh, G-D of Abraham, of Yitzchak and Yaakov
Accept my prayer in your heavenly setting
And send already my fortune
And announce already my blessing
That a bright light may illuminate the entire world!

I feel locked in, yet I also feel locked out.....
Do you ever feel yourself being pulled in two directions? Not physically and not literally – but inside yourself. A struggle within. On a Shabbos or YomTov is when I tend to feel it most. Not every Shabbos or every Yomtov, but those are the times that such feelings are prone to come to me in waves, heavily, and without logic or reason, but – there they are.

I feel locked in, because the day is long, the quiet is oppressive, the atmosphere inside my home is not peaceful, and I get restless. I gaze at my car, sitting in the driveway…….and think….oh, if I could just get into my car and drive away, get out, get out of here.

I feel locked out, because although I try to achieve the spark and the spirit and joy and the harmony of the wonderful Shabbos and Yomtov, I can’t always feel it……it seems to elude me many times . I’m locked out!! Others feel the joy! Others can let go of the daily grind to rejoice in these special days………..I try and I fail.

So - I imagine that if only I could go to---------

Aruba, Jamaica oh I wanna take you

Bermuda, Bahama, come on pretty mama

Key largo, Montego, baby why don’t we go…

Off the Florida keys,

There’s a place called Kokomo,
That’s where you wanna go,
To get away from it all,

Bodies in the sand,

Tropical drink melting in your hand…

We’ll be falling in love

To the rhythm of a steel drum band,

Down in Kokomo

Aruba, Jamaica oh, I wanna take you

To Bermuda, Bahama, come on pretty mama

Key largo, Montego, baby why don’t we go

I wanna take you down to kokomo

We’ll get there fast

And then we’ll take it slow

That’s where we wanna go

Way down to kokomo

To Martinique, that Monserrat mystique

We’ll put out to sea

And we’ll perfect our chemistry

By and by we’ll defy,

a little bit of gravity

Afternoon delight……

Cocktails and moonlit nights.

That dreamy look in your eye,

Gives me a tropical contact high

Way down in Kokomo

Everybody knows

A little place like kokomo

Now if you wanna go

And get away from it all....

Go down to kokomo...

Where do I really want to be………I'm pretty sure that it’s not KOKOMO. I think I’m fooling myself if I think that’s going to make me happy......