Tonight we light the 6th candle.
Tonight we light the 6th candle of Chanukah. The question today is: What six gifts have you received that have lit up your life? However you want to define “gift” is fine. Here are mine:
- Ely’s mom’s engagement ring. One day, when my mother-in-law Pearl z’’l was visiting us in Seattle, she came with me on an errand. As I parked to go into the dry cleaners, she put her hand on my arm and said, before you go, I want you to have this – and took her engagement ring off of her finger. Ely’s dad Irving had been gone for several years, and Pearl said to me – Honey, I want you to enjoy this while I’m still alive.
- Rachel Adler – my teacher at Hebrew Union College, and now friend. Rachel taught me so many things that stay with me, and have become a part of my work and life. When I first met her in school, she was already an icon to me, with her groundbreaking work in Engendering Judaism, and now, even more so, having the gift of her teaching, I’m in awe of her wisdom and depth
- Our dog Bo is a gift every single day. He makes me laugh out loud and elicits so much love and joy (which if you follow me, you can see bright as day.)
- Our boys, Josh & Ben: I have always felt, as Kahlil Gibran wrote, that they were gifts sent to us from beyond and that it was a sacred task to be their parent. The unfolding of their own lives is a wonder to behold.
- My friend Karen, before she died, called me to ask if I wanted her Jewish library and of course I said yes, even though I was already out of shelf space. Having her books in my library is an enormous gift. It’s like she’s still here with me. We had been friends since college.
- Gifts in my garden – When we lived in Seattle, I was a member of a garden club, that Mary Mae Colvin invited me into. It was an incredible group of older women with such varying politics and backgrounds but who shared a deep love of all things green. I was given cuttings by a few women from their gardens that I planted in mine. When we moved from Seattle, I dug those plants up and gave them as gifts to other friends.
What about you? I’d love to hear.(You don’t have to have long explanations either.)
1) each of my beautiful wonderful fur angels: Jasper, Mystic (both always in my heart) and Honey-Bear
2) my first piano and lessons at age six. Literally from a church fire sale. Dad had to repaint it to get rid of the scorch marks
3) my first two acoustic guitars (12 string Gibson-thx Joni Mitchell) and Martin D-28 1968 rosewood. Still have them both.
4) down payment for my condo
5) two loving, supportive and generous parents (their memories ARE a blessing).
6) I can’t think of just one more thing to add so let’s just say all the rest!!
My gifts are actually all rolled into one –
The greatest gift I have ever been given, was Gd making me a writer, and allowing me to shine light on the human condition through my work – my plays, my films. This has been the greatest gift… it has lead to so many other gifts, but all come from this..