Stormy Weather
On a sunny day in 1967, the most miraculous event of my life occurred. I had had many adventure, seen many places, and even gotten married to the guy I’d had a crush on, but until that moment at 5:10 a.m., I didn’t know how it felt to be a mother.
I remember watching in the mirror as the baby’s head became visible. I remember hearing his cry before he had fully emerged. I remember looking at him. Perfect. I will never forget any of it. I remember holding him and feeding him and thinking about who he would become. I wanted to keep him safe and protected and secure always. I hoped that one day he would grow up and become independent.
And then, thirteen years later, my heart felt like it would burst with joy as he became a Bar Mitzvah. His reading of the very long double Torah portion was impressive. Could any mother have been prouder? And then, in what seems like only months later, I got a call from him. He was in college in Israel. He called to say that he had found the girl he wanted to marry and I would soon get to meet her.
My son– wanted to get married. What could this girl possibly be like? And then I met her. She was wonderful. I don’t think I could have found anyone better for him had I searched everywhere. And then there was the wedding on a beautiful Jerusalem evening with the stars shining and the music playing and tears running down my face as my son began his new life.
It was a cold ,snowy day in New York in December when I took my husband to the airport as he left to attend the brit of our first grandson in Israel. I followed a day or two later and on a cold rainy January day, our first grandson entered the covenant of our father Abraham.
And in another blink of the eye, this weekend, on a cold, rainy, foggy Shabbat, we celebrated the Bar Mitzvah of this first grandson who read the entire Torah portion and lead the Shabbat service and gave a scholarly lecture.
The years pass all too quickly, but they are filled with joy and I am more grateful than I can say.
Mazal tov to Ben and Ilana and Tzvi!
