5769 Yom Kippur Sermon
Family & Visiting Israel, by BAJC Board Member Sandra Brodsky
Good Morning fellow congregants and family. I would like to thank you for this honor to speak to you today on this our holiest day, Yom Kippur – the day when we ask G-d to forgive us of our shortcomings and, as stated by Jim in our newsletter, when we reconnect with our heritage and family.
Family is why I am up here today. I was asked to share with you the extraordinary visit my family made to Israel this May. It was indeed a special gift given to all of us: to my brother and his wife, my sister, her partner, my 3 ½ year old niece and myself by our mother, who was there with us and happily is here with us today. This was no ordinary trip. My mom was on a mission, and she had some specific reasons for wanting us all to do this together. She also wanted to do this while she could still “remember,” while she could still get around easily and could help instill in all of us the importance of our homeland Israel and our responsibility to participate in its future ability to thrive, develop and grow.
We had not traveled all together as a family for many years, and now we were all going to be together for 14 days, 24/7. My brother and his wife live in NJ, my mother outside of Philadelphia and my sister with her family an hour south of here in MA. We have a rich family history. And, now we would have a new opportunity to create special memories together.
We have a lot of family from my father’s side living in Jerusalem and Haifa. They had made Aliyah to Israel 40 years ago, and most of us in the family have had occasion to visit.
We were scheduled to spend time in Jerusalem, Tiberias, Haifa, Beer Sheva in the Negev and Tel Aviv, seeing as much of the still unfolding history as possible. My mother had spent weeks carefully crafting the itinerary. As we all know, our plans are often G-d’s joke. We arrived in Tel Aviv on May 15th early in the morning and drove straightaway to Jerusalem. Once there, however, we had to abandon our driver and luggage to walk the remaining blocks to our hotel. A presidential motorcade was coming through. Can you imagine flying across the globe to unexpectedly watch President Bush go by in a motorcade? This and all the special security was our welcome to Israel celebration.
While in Jerusalem we visited the historical sites: the Western Wall, the Rabbinical tunnels, the southern wall in the old city with its Arab bazaar, the Qumran where the ancient sea scrolls were found, Massada, and then the Dead Sea where we lathered in the healing mud and rinsed off in this legendary sea. We also visited Yad Vashem, which transported us back to another period altogether.
It was in Jerusalem that we began meeting our relatives, three generations of them: my aunt, my uncle, my first cousins, their children and their children’s children. Some I had not seen for many years and some I had never met. But, family is family and you pick up where you left off. It was a special reunion to say the least. We spoke with the cousins about old times, their experience in the army – and the ability for young people to make a living in Israel.
As my father always said, we need to get along with our own, our family, as they will always be there for you.
Beyond family, there were two reasons that my mother had arranged this trip. We experienced the first in Jerusalem itself. It is the Goldie Kassell Center, part of the Jewish women International – Residential In-patient Treatment Center, formerly Bnai Brith Women. Goldie Kassell was my mother’s mother and creating this center was the vision of my mother and her brother 12 years ago when Grand mom passed away – a way to honor her name and memory and at the same time to do something really valuable for Israel’s children.
Now imagine this: my grandparents had never belonged to a synagogue. My grandmother arrived from Russia at age 12 in 1910 and my grandfather at age 5 in 1903. They married here at age 18. They did not keep a kosher home. And, yet they observed the Jewish holidays where all the old fashioned, home cooking took place and where our families would meet to celebrate. My grandmother was a master cook and baker, as well as a skilled seamstress. She was a long time active member of Bnai Brith, and she loved children and being with them.
The Goldie Kassell Center is an out-patient center, meeting the needs of the community where children and families attend that come from diverse backgrounds, issues and problems. They meet with professionals to help work through their issues. This center was established in 1998, but the demand for its services such as from courts, schools and training programs for professionals has grown so rapidly that it will be moving into a larger space later this year. As we visited this remarkable facility, and kept thinking how proud my grandmother would be- indeed how proud she is at seeing the center meeting the challenging needs of, and contributing to a healthier and stronger, diverse Israeli society.
We continued our trip to Tiberias, the gorgeous Sea of Galilee, Safed, the Golan Heights, driving very close to the Lebanon border and then to Haifa to visit my cousin and one of her daughters who was awaiting the return of her husband who is in the army. Then through historical Caesarea and the Mediterranean Sea, and finally to Beer Sheva, the 2nd reason that mom brought us all together in Israel.
We were there to attend the Ben Gurion University’s 2008 Annual National Board of Governors meeting that occurs each year in May. As some of you know, Ben Gurion University seeks to capture the vision that David Ben Gurion had about the Negev and its enormous potential.
So how did my parents get involved with this university? Nearly 15 years ago my parents attended a dinner sponsored by the American Associates of Ben Gurion University honoring one of their friends. At this dinner, my mother ran into an old college classmate who began talking with her about the Negev, explaining that it represented 2/3rd’s of the land mass of Israel, and explaining some of the wonders emerging from that desert. Her friend also explained the importance the university plays to the Negev and, more broadly to the security, safety and economic development of Israel. My mother was fascinated, and she and my father became actively involved in the Mid Atlantic Chapter of the Associates, attending National Board of Governors conferences and becoming active on committees. Soon my parents were recognized as “Founders” of BGU and their names have been engraved on one of the walls at BGU together with those of other such supporters from all over the world. They also contributed to student housing development and student scholarship funds.
After my father passed away my mother continued her involvement. She is extremely dedicated to the importance the university plays to the Negev in the security, safety and economic development of Israel. My mother now proudly serves on the National Board of American Associates and the Board of the Mid Atlantic chapter.
Two years ago when our family learned about new programs that were needed by the university, my mother made an endowment to the university’s Student Psychological Service, and thus the Sylvia A. Brodsky Walk in-Service was established. This program provides services that allow students, faculty and administrative staff of BGU who are in crisis to be provided with immediate psychological intervention. Some of the problems faced relate to academic anxieties, relationship issues, family difficulties, and stress, related to military service.
I had accompanied my mother in 2006 for the dedication of her Walk in-Service. Afterwards, a gentleman came up to my mother to tell her that he had wished this program existed in year’s prior when his daughter had been a student at BGU and was herself in crisis. In the absence of such immediate attention, his daughter unfortunately had committed suicide.
Now, with the whole family present, there was a second dedication where we had an opportunity to meet with the interns and staff involved, to hear their stories, and to ask questions. This unique service continues to grow and evolve. We are all extremely proud of this accomplishment and the impact it has made for Ben Gurion University.
While in Beer Sheva we went to BGU’s Desert Research Center in Sde Boker. We passed the kibbutz where Ben Gurion and his wife made their home and visited their burial sites. We also got to meet with some of the Arab students that attend the university, hear about their efforts towards maintaining their traditions and culture while living on campus and issues around anxiety.
This trip was extremely important to my mother so she could show us how established and invested our family is in the future development, safety and stability of Israel, BGU and the Negev. It is now our responsibility to continue that legacy. We are committed to carrying out this work of our family.
We became closer to one another. My father was there in Israel with us in spirit. This gift that my mother gave to us was a true blessing that we will cherish always.
And, so as we reconnect with our family and our heritage during these High Holidays, may we appreciate all that we have, never take family or friends for granted, and think together about how we can make a difference by bringing peace into our homes, in our community, in our place of worship, and in Israel. Family is our constant.
Amen
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