I wear a Jewish star necklace now. I always thought I would never wear one. I didn’t think it was useful or appropriate to advertise my religion as one of the first things you see or know about me. Then my son went to Israel and returned home with a beautiful and modest Jewish star Read More
Tag: Jewish
THERE WAS NO MISTAKE: Yom Kippur take 2
Same day, same Yom Kippur Service, 2019. I was innocently sitting there gently striking my chest, whispering the sins listed in the Yom Kippur Siddur, when another wild wonderful realization came. Having experienced a share of trauma growing up, I had wished many times I could return to the happy, unself-conscious, young girl who was Read More
TRAUMA: Yom Kippur & freedom
On Yom Kippur 2019 I was in Shul hungry, standing, sitting, standing, sitting, and as usual not really understanding what was going on. I began to feel guilty about something I imagined I hadn’t done well. A close friend was going through a tough time and though I had tried to support her, somehow I Read More
DISILLUSIONED: and cracking open
Sam was extremely good looking. A very good dancer with a twinkle in his eye, dancing was big when he was growing up and he was a star on the dance floor. While his good looks and light-footed charm earned him some ease in life, Sam also faced hard lessons. Rifka, his mom, had experienced Read More
SWINGSTER: that girl can dance
My long lost cousin of sweet childhood memories recently contacted me. She had been reading my blog and of course related to the “characters” since many are her relatives as well. What I didn’t know is that over the past decade, she has been steadfastly researching our family’s history through the U.S. Census. She just Read More
TELL YOUR STORIES: Build it and they will come
WHAT ARE YOUR STORIES? I was going to wait until the influx of your stories came spontaneously flooding in. Then, the plan was to set up a special link just for your tales. The idea that we are bigger and better when we come together is ancient. Building community. Not just Vivi and each reader. Read More
THE FORGOTTEN ONES: and stubborn hope
My father’s mother, Rifka, was a young woman living in Poland in the early 1900s. Pogroms against the Jewish people were common in her little community in Galicia. These recurring outbreaks of violence created desperate conditions and the Jewish people sought to escape. Little did they know it was to get much worse in Galicia, not better, in Read More
THE PHYSICS OF LOVE: Trimming rose bushes
Last week I cut back my double knock out rose bushes. Here’s the crazy thing. I have had these rose bushes for ten years. Every year when I cut them back, I get all scratched up, I struggle like nobody’s business, and often I fail. When my sons help, they do a decent job. I Read More
BULLIED: A 12 year old’s story
I used to hate being Jewish, and was embarrassed of it. Scared too. I felt there was either no God, or if there was, ‘he’ was against the Jews and against me. I had actually hoped there was no G-d because at least if there wasn’t, the playing field would be level. I also hated Read More
PARENTS PASSING: And the new family
Kindness: I am not going to put forth a canonized mom, i.e. a gentle soul who never had a bad word to say about anybody. My mom called it as she saw it. And she didn’t always like what she saw. That being said, she had a huge heart. She felt for the suffering of Read More