Waiting with Yaakov  

Our shul is a beautiful building, but it does have one design flaw: a particularly narrow entrance and exit that hinders traffic flow. This isn’t an issue during the week; depending on whether davening is starting or ending, people are usually walking in the same direction, and those who aren’t are patient. The issue comes up primarily on Shabbos afternoon, when the mispallelim of the early Minchah minyan want to leave, and the arrivals for the second Minchah want to go to their seats.

I found myself in just such a traffic jam a few weeks ago. I stood outside the sanctuary conversing with a young man named Yaakov as we both waited for a break in the crowd. Some people tried snaking their way in through the outgoing crowd, but I did not, because my mother taught me to wait my turn and to always allow people coming out of a room or train or elevator to exit before I try to enter.

The second reason I didn’t push my way in is because I was waiting with Yaakov.

And Yaakov uses a wheelchair. Which is why I got yelled at.