The last link to any other world was the clink of the fire-black tea urn…
-The English Patient
Our teapot was dented, sooty, and nicked. It was the first thing put on the fire and the last thing taken off. We waited for it to boil and then for someone to stir. When ready to pour, the cook said, Ta’āla Shai, Come Tea, and we all came, came back from wherever we were, to our hot, sweet home.