Dream World of a Different Era
Golden hair with gentle waves, she looked like a Russian princess to me. Not that we learned any great love for the czar and his family. All that I heard was that G-d should keep him far from us. But this Russian princess had her own chest of clothing and her own dressing table and chair with a perfect little brush that matched it all. I spent hours playing with the attic doll. My sister, on the other hand, found an exquisite wooden horse. That is who she wanted every time we visited Uncle's big old attic in the big old green house. Cereal and milk was the food of choice for the horse. Bailah said that horses eat oats and this cereal had oats. I don't know about the milk. My princess had tea and cookies. And so did I.
How long did we spend in that attic? Who knows? Untethered by time we spent our summer afternoons with Uncle. When the fall began to find us, life stirred, it hustled and bustled, and carried us to a New Year with a New Book of Life where good, healthy, safe lives were supposed to be inscribed therein for us all.
After a summer in the attic I had a lot of questions: what's life? ... what's the purpose of life? ... stuff like that. I found my mother at the kitchen sink cleaning chickens. "Mommy, mommy, what is life, its purpose?" I asked her again and again tugging on her apron. "Why are you asking me such big questions now?" she replied. I moved on to my aunts with the same questions and each time I received exasperation and impatience. It was too big a question and now was never the time. In desperation I turned to my grandmother who said, "listen my little one, do you want to eat or do you want answers?" Actually, I preferred answers but she was not interested in what I was thinking. "Go to your zayde he is not getting ready for yontif. He will have the time for such big questions." I looked at her. "Go, go, go, he is in the sun patio reading the newspapers".
Big questions require big answers, long answers, and lots of time. This is what I understood from the women who populated my childhood. So, I was a bit scared to interrupt my grandfather but not so scared. I approached him in the sun patio. I tip-toed into the sun patio. I thought that I was being very quiet but apparently not that quiet. By the time I reached his side, the newspaper was in his lap and he was watching me with a smile. "Bubbe said that I should come to you," I said. He continued to smile. "I have questions. They are very big. They need big answers. Bubbe, Mommy, and all my Tantes are too busy with the food. Could you help me now right before yontif?" I asked with a trembling voice.
"Must be some gigantic questions? I'll try," he answered. My relief filled me completely and made me able to ask about life and its purpose. He looked at me, "that's it?" I nodded a yes. "The answer to all of this is shtaygung." I looked at him. What was that supposed to mean? He understood my silence. "Shtaygung is elevation... elevation of soul... your soul, the soul of everyone around you thanks to the fact that you are living a G_dly path that lets you heal your portion of the world and sometimes even more. It means letting the ladies cook for yontif and talking to me. They don't get so nervous and forget their recipes and we get to elevate our souls as we learn about life. A good inscription in the Book of Life my little one... it should be a good inscription for us all." He pat me on the hand and went back to his newspaper.
And that was that.
Wishing everyone a good inscription in the Book of Life for a New Year filled with good healing, renewal of health, continued wellness, parnassa, joy, and peace.
SHANAH TOVAH !!!
How long did we spend in that attic? Who knows? Untethered by time we spent our summer afternoons with Uncle. When the fall began to find us, life stirred, it hustled and bustled, and carried us to a New Year with a New Book of Life where good, healthy, safe lives were supposed to be inscribed therein for us all.
After a summer in the attic I had a lot of questions: what's life? ... what's the purpose of life? ... stuff like that. I found my mother at the kitchen sink cleaning chickens. "Mommy, mommy, what is life, its purpose?" I asked her again and again tugging on her apron. "Why are you asking me such big questions now?" she replied. I moved on to my aunts with the same questions and each time I received exasperation and impatience. It was too big a question and now was never the time. In desperation I turned to my grandmother who said, "listen my little one, do you want to eat or do you want answers?" Actually, I preferred answers but she was not interested in what I was thinking. "Go to your zayde he is not getting ready for yontif. He will have the time for such big questions." I looked at her. "Go, go, go, he is in the sun patio reading the newspapers".
Big questions require big answers, long answers, and lots of time. This is what I understood from the women who populated my childhood. So, I was a bit scared to interrupt my grandfather but not so scared. I approached him in the sun patio. I tip-toed into the sun patio. I thought that I was being very quiet but apparently not that quiet. By the time I reached his side, the newspaper was in his lap and he was watching me with a smile. "Bubbe said that I should come to you," I said. He continued to smile. "I have questions. They are very big. They need big answers. Bubbe, Mommy, and all my Tantes are too busy with the food. Could you help me now right before yontif?" I asked with a trembling voice.
"Must be some gigantic questions? I'll try," he answered. My relief filled me completely and made me able to ask about life and its purpose. He looked at me, "that's it?" I nodded a yes. "The answer to all of this is shtaygung." I looked at him. What was that supposed to mean? He understood my silence. "Shtaygung is elevation... elevation of soul... your soul, the soul of everyone around you thanks to the fact that you are living a G_dly path that lets you heal your portion of the world and sometimes even more. It means letting the ladies cook for yontif and talking to me. They don't get so nervous and forget their recipes and we get to elevate our souls as we learn about life. A good inscription in the Book of Life my little one... it should be a good inscription for us all." He pat me on the hand and went back to his newspaper.
And that was that.
Wishing everyone a good inscription in the Book of Life for a New Year filled with good healing, renewal of health, continued wellness, parnassa, joy, and peace.
SHANAH TOVAH !!!
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