The Committed Life by Rebbetzin Esther Jungreis

Author:Rebbetzin Esther Jungreis
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

PUTTING YOURSELF ON THE LINE

If you were to choose just one word to describe Sandy, it would have to be maddening. She had this uncanny way of saying and doing things that could drive you up a wall, but she did it with such charm that even if you wanted to, you couldn’t get angry with her. She was kind, generous, and always full of fun.

I first became involved with her when she started to attend my Torah classes. She was bright and quick to apply her newfound knowledge to her daily life. The only area that she had difficulty with was curbing her tongue. Time and again I would explain to her that Torah law is very stringent in this regard. She tried, she really did, but her natural temperament always surfaced.

Sandy had two teenage daughters. As she became more and more involved in Judaism, she regretted never having had a son. “If you would give me a blessing that I have a son, Rebbetzin, I would have another baby immediately,” she said.

“Sandy,” I told her, “I’ll gladly give you a blessing, but there are no guarantees. We can pray, but we can’t dictate to G-d what He should do.”

Sandy refused to accept this. In her book, a blessing was a guarantee, and she blamed me for not being more definite. No matter, I loved her and was prepared to accept her on her terms.

Then one day I made a special celebration in honor of my son Osher Anshil’s third birthday. The third is a very significant birthday. It is then that a little boy gets his first haircut. It is then that he puts on a yarmulke and starts learning the sacred Hebrew letters of the aleph-beit and is launched on the path of becoming a Torah scholar. I wanted this celebration to be as beautiful as it could be. My maternal grandfather, Rabbi Tzvi Hirsh Kohn, was old, frail, and ailing. In my heart of hearts, I sensed that this would be the last family gathering he would be able to attend, and unfortunately, my fears proved to be well founded.

I was in the midst of my preparations, hurrying to get everything ready, when the phone rang. It was Sandy. I asked her to excuse me, explaining that I was expecting company and couldn’t talk, but that didn’t deter Sandy.

“Who is coming?” she pressed.

When I told her, she became jubilant. “I can’t believe it,” she said. “Three holy rabbis in one room—your grandfather, your father, and your husband. It’s like a rabbinic court. I’m coming right over to get my blessing. Now I’m sure I will have a boy!”

We were in the midst of the festivities when Sandy rang the doorbell. My grandfather was offering Oshie special cookies baked by my mother in the shape of the Hebrew letters, and as he gave him each cookie, Oshie called out the sound of the letter while we applauded and cheered him on.

“Oh, how beautiful,” Sandy exclaimed, her eyes filling with tears.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.