The Fall Issue is Out!
November 3, 2009
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3 comments on “The Fall Issue is Out!”
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Great issue; thank you for the poignant and scholarly insights!
We just received the following from reader Sara Shalva:
“I wrote [the below poem] while my husband and I were struggling to figure out a way to honor his participation in preparing for Shabbat (and life in general) and as a response to “Ashet Hayal” the traditional song of praise sung to the woman of the house around the Shabbat table. I so enjoyed the most recent volume of Lilith and the focus on men and boys.
True equality for all of us must include a liberation from traditional gender roles for everyone, and maintain and honor Jewish tradition as much as possible. As an every-day Jewish feminist, I participate personally everyday in discussions about division of labor and model a general emphasis on living an egalitarian Jewish married life (In a traditional community). My husband is a Rabbi.
*In Your Hands*
* *
In your hands are the creases and blisters of our lives.
And within those creases
are the words of Torah you study,
and the dirt that you shovel to help people die with dignity;
which is covered by a layer of salty tears of new parents on the eighth day.
And over those tears are the echos of the whispers from today’s visit to the
hospital
where you held someone’s hand in silence
after praying with them for healing and strength.
Not to mention a little residue of diapers and wipes,
some garlic and olive oil and coffee
an indentation from the vacuum and the swifer
and of course Johnson’s Baby Wash.
all of those things are in your hands.
Thank you God for your ultimate wisdom and providence in giving us hands.
And for bringing my husbands hands to me
where today and everyday we work together to build a life.”
We received this story of a celebration from Phoenix, AZ-area journalist, Leni Reiss:
“Our challenge and goal was to meaningfully incorporate seven children —- (four of
his and three of ours, all under age 13 and including his triplets) into our
daughter’s second wedding ceremony. This is what we came up with: The groom and his parents walked down the aisle, followed by the offspring — one by one — and each carrying a single rose. When my daughter, escorted by my husband and me, reached the chuppah the kids added their flower to her bouquet and gave her a kiss. So her bridal bouquet symbolized a happily melded family into one beautiful bouquet, while providing each child his or her special moment. And there wasn’t a dry eye. “