March 1, 2011

Six teenagers sit laughing around barely touched platters of hamburgers and fries on a recent Friday afternoon, oblivious to the deli manager’s harried attempts to close out the cash register ahead of the rapidly declining sun. One of the teens remembers to return a blue-and-white kipah the restaurant keeps on hand in case a customer forgets to bring his own. “I’m leaving in exactly seven minutes,” the manager says politely but firmly. “Come back anytime after Shabbat.”