Photo by Getty Stock Images July 22, 2020.
I am joining a nation of people who have suffered and struggled to find acceptance and a place to call home. A people who have triumphed in the face of adversity. Learning to adapt, question the status quo and build an altar within the heart of each act, each exchange, service and rite of passage.
An ancient people, whose blood line runs thick within the pages of time and echoes far and wide in the land of Israel. Where from so many stories have been told. A land universally recognized as “holy.”
What I love about you:
Your humanness
Flaws and imperfections being shown
You are funny
There is a wit in your banter
The songs
The stories reenacted so as not to forget.
“Tradition, tradition!”
Our legacy — each member responsible for their part.
You are old, and with age comes wisdom.
We draw from a collection of lived experiences, shared.
Family is EVERYTHING
Honoring our ancestors is integral to honoring ourselves.
Because we are a part of something greater than any individual. Here, there is no hierarchy. There is a circle.
Through actions, I am a living > Ritual, Ritual, Ritual <
Schnitzel, rugelach and matzo ball soup!
When I am mourning, I will not grieve alone.
In fact, I will never be alone.
I am a part of an intimate web.
To know what it is to have lost almost everything. Several times over. And to build again.
Nothing is taken for granted.
Everything is questioned.
We don’t claim to have all of the answers.
There are many ways …
I, too, will take on the stigmas and stereotypes.
Our sense of belonging does not come from outside of ourselves. Adaptability breeds resilience.
Values are upheld by the community.
Modeh Ani — Gratitude for Life and its Creator
God is everywhere and in everything.
The magic and mystery transferred is fortifying.
I am a better human with your guidance.
A call to light up the world.
Passion for life, all of its flavors and seasons included.
We are here to save ourselves.
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