The problem was that the money from my last salary was about to run out, and such a lunch gathering would put too much pressure on my already tight budget, but thank God he said it was his treat, i.e. for free, so I went (I am joking, of course - 50 shekels is not that much). But I know fully that those 50 shekels could be a large amount for many people here (50 shekels = approximately US$15, depending on the volatile market prices at the time) – indeed, it could be almost all they own in this transitory world...