33 Weeks and Anticipating Thanksgiving

Dear Friends, As I spend time with family in the Midwest before Thanksgiving and other family members and friends in VA during Thanksgiving week, I am thinking a lot about the first Thanksgiving since Sue passed away. As often happens I was driving and the following song came on the radio which reminded me of so much of what I have felt and want to express as Thanksgiving approaches.  (See below. Please put the titles into your browser to hear the songs) As the lyrics in the song say, They say that all good things must end someday Autumn leaves must fallBut don't you know that it hurts me so To say goodbye to you? Wish you didn't have to go No, no, no, noAnd when the rain beats against my window pane I'll think of summer days again And dream of you. When I visited Sue's parents' graves last week, I was reminded of what her father said when we would recite the motzi or prayer before eating bread.  He would say, "let's all say baruch (blessing)." When I think of Sue (and I told this to her parents while standing at their graves in Champaign, Illinois), Sue was the greatest blessing in my life and as we celebrate Thanksgiving, I am so thankful for the gift of being her best friend for over 50 years.  She certainly was my beloved and my friend and when I think of summer days again as the song says, I smile in my soul for all we had. The sparkles of her smiles which bring light to my soul remind me of these words from the song, Trees swaying in the summer breeze Showing off their silver leaves As we walked by Soft kisses on a summer's day Laughing all our cares away Just you and I Sweet sleepy warmth of summer nights Gazing at the distant lights In the starry sky As you remember, given the suddenness of her departure from this world, we never said goodbye and so as we celebrate our many blessings, I will think of summer days again and dream of her.  I will celebrate the joy in her heart as she "kvelled" ( a Yiddish word meaning "experienced great happiness and pride") when she and our children who would be visiting would prepare food together.  As she knew, my role with Thanksgiving food was to eat it not prepare it and she treasured the opportunity to have folks with whom to prepare special foods that didn't always receive a lot of positive feedback from me:-(  In fact, if one of the first manifestations of Divine presence in the Bible was the statement, "Let there be light" our house during Thanksgiving was filled with divinity. Finally, her playful spirit lit up our home as she was so happy to have people who wanted to play games together and I will never forget her joy in playing "spot it," her happiness in playing "boggle," and her laughter when we would play "code names" as we tried not to engage in table talk which is against the rules. Finally, indulge me in one more song which I hope will encourage you to make memories which you will treasure for a lifetime as you hopefully gather with people with whom you are close during this Holiday season. Shabbat Shalom, Rabbi Bruce Aft Memory  (from the Broadway Musical, "Cats") Turn your face to the moonlight Let your memory lead you Open up enter in If you find there The meaning of what happiness is Then a new life will beginMemory All alone in the moonlight I can smile at the old days I was beautiful then I remember The time I knew what happiness was Let the memory Live againBurnt out ends of smoky days The stale cold smell of morning A street lamp dies Another night is over Another day is dawningDaylight I must wait for the sunrise I must think of a new life And I mustn't give in When the dawn comes Tonight will be a memory too And a new day will beginSunlight through the trees in summer Endless masquerading Like a flower as the dawn is breaking The memory is fadingTouch me It's so easy to leave me All alone with the memory Of my days in the sun If you touch me You'll understand what happiness is Look, a new day Has begun Chad & Jeremy "A Summer Song" YouTube · NRRArchives24.3M+ views · 13 years ago 3:39