I recently read a book called, "Putting G-d on the Guest List", by Jeffrey K. Salkin. In the book, he writes that many Jewish people are not entirely comfortable talking about G-d. I'm in that camp. So as I talk about HIM, I'm renaming HIM, Henry. Weird, I guess, but more comfortable for me.
Well before Andrew was born, Henry was an active part of Danny and my life. Over the years, I can remember having a chat, sharing a secret, pleading for help, begging, promising or just plain confiding in Henry. My question, though, is how do you introduce your kid to someone whom you can't see, you can't hear and you're not too comfortable talking about?
Now forgive me for sounding like Tevya from the movie "Fiddler on the Roof", but he did have it right when he said a Jew's connection to Henry is through their observance of Jewish tradition. And, like Tevya who asks, "So when did this tradition get started?" I repeat his response, " I don't know." But tradition is what connects us through the generations and across the world.
We've done our best to observe Jewish traditions such as holidays and Shabbat (Friday night). We've tried our best to instill our commitment to the Jewish community by attending events that support our synagogue and Jews in the broader community. We've shared the culture of Judaism by introducing customary foods like chopped liver and herring, and phrases from Yiddish and Hebrew that we can remember.
These activities are all the ways we've introduced Judaism to Andrew. However, introducing Henry to Andrew in large part has been through our relationships with family and friends, Jewish and non Jewish.
Hearing the reminiscent stories from our family, bring the existence of Henry to life. My mom often tells us a wonderful story about how each Shabbat, when she was growing up, she'd watch her mother make chicken soup from scratch. The story begins with how her mom would pluck the feathers off the chicken in their backyard, and end with her mom schlepping (Yiddish for carrying with a lot of strength) a huge vat of soup up the stairs from the basement to share with my mom's dad, brother and sisters, and Aunts and Uncles. No wonder my mom uses the Yiddish word Oy! so often! I can't say I ever saw my mom schlep soup from our basement. However, I've never felt more aware of Henry than when we eat chicken soup as a family and hear that story. Memories like this one bring to life the Hebrew phrase L'Dor V Dor, which means from generation to generation.
Our friends have also helped with introductions. Danny and I didn't grow up in the Twin Cities, but today we don't feel like outsiders. We are blessed with forever friends who've welcomed us into their homes for the holidays, and shared their special traditions. Henry doesn't come up a lot in our conversations, but we all know he's present.
Our non-Jewish friends have been just as important. They've accepted us for who we are, and recognize, respect and celebrate our traditions. We are so blessed to have you all in our lives.
So as I work on the seating chart for Saturday night, I'm not going to worry about where Henry's going to sit. Suffice it to say HE's on the list and present at our event.
Well before Andrew was born, Henry was an active part of Danny and my life. Over the years, I can remember having a chat, sharing a secret, pleading for help, begging, promising or just plain confiding in Henry. My question, though, is how do you introduce your kid to someone whom you can't see, you can't hear and you're not too comfortable talking about?
Now forgive me for sounding like Tevya from the movie "Fiddler on the Roof", but he did have it right when he said a Jew's connection to Henry is through their observance of Jewish tradition. And, like Tevya who asks, "So when did this tradition get started?" I repeat his response, " I don't know." But tradition is what connects us through the generations and across the world.
We've done our best to observe Jewish traditions such as holidays and Shabbat (Friday night). We've tried our best to instill our commitment to the Jewish community by attending events that support our synagogue and Jews in the broader community. We've shared the culture of Judaism by introducing customary foods like chopped liver and herring, and phrases from Yiddish and Hebrew that we can remember.
These activities are all the ways we've introduced Judaism to Andrew. However, introducing Henry to Andrew in large part has been through our relationships with family and friends, Jewish and non Jewish.
Hearing the reminiscent stories from our family, bring the existence of Henry to life. My mom often tells us a wonderful story about how each Shabbat, when she was growing up, she'd watch her mother make chicken soup from scratch. The story begins with how her mom would pluck the feathers off the chicken in their backyard, and end with her mom schlepping (Yiddish for carrying with a lot of strength) a huge vat of soup up the stairs from the basement to share with my mom's dad, brother and sisters, and Aunts and Uncles. No wonder my mom uses the Yiddish word Oy! so often! I can't say I ever saw my mom schlep soup from our basement. However, I've never felt more aware of Henry than when we eat chicken soup as a family and hear that story. Memories like this one bring to life the Hebrew phrase L'Dor V Dor, which means from generation to generation.
Our friends have also helped with introductions. Danny and I didn't grow up in the Twin Cities, but today we don't feel like outsiders. We are blessed with forever friends who've welcomed us into their homes for the holidays, and shared their special traditions. Henry doesn't come up a lot in our conversations, but we all know he's present.
Our non-Jewish friends have been just as important. They've accepted us for who we are, and recognize, respect and celebrate our traditions. We are so blessed to have you all in our lives.
So as I work on the seating chart for Saturday night, I'm not going to worry about where Henry's going to sit. Suffice it to say HE's on the list and present at our event.
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