Join us for our end of season "Under the Bridge" - Shabbat celebration in Brooklyn Bridge Park, Pier 1. 6:30pm BYOPicnic.
Today would have been my Imma's birthday. "Imma" means "mom" in Hebrew and what she loved to be called. I loved calling her "Mamma". Judith Ann Phillips would have turned 78. "Happy Birthday Imma/Mamma!"
Today's Torah is a tribute to her. In this season of preparing for the High HOLY Days, I am confronted with my own personal reflection around the past year, who I am and who I want to be in this coming year. This is a powerful time to get back in touch with my true self. It takes effort and honesty. I am able to do this (some years better than others) because of my mom.
I am grateful beyond measure for having been her daughter and extremely blessed to have known her. She was always honest, always present and always supportive (even when she didn't agree with my decision). She was also always late and always searching for the "thing" she was looking for. She didn't bake cookies. In fact she told me when I was very young that at school when the class starts planning a party I could only volunteer to bring napkins (sometimes plates but only if necessary). My mom was the smartest person I have ever known and she always lived in accordance with her values, no matter what. She had this incredibly ability to not care if speaking the truth would make others uncomfortable or make her unpopular. This made me very uncomfortable when I was younger. As an adult, I try hard to emulate this quality. My mom always helped the "other" and most of the time she didn't say anything. She was incredibly competitive. When we played Monopoly, she used to tell my younger brother that Baltic (dark purple) was better than Park Place (dark blue). He believed her for a while. She was ruthless at Scrabble and crossword puzzles. My mom didn't have to be right, but she pretty much always was. She loved her family, antiquing and flea markets, travel, puzzles and dogs.
She continues to be present and inspires me to be my best. I love you Imma/Mamma.
Who inspires you to be your best? Who enables you to be present in this season of reflection? If they are alive, tell them. If they aren't, tell someone about them.
We are a People of people. Our connections to the other enable tremendous capacity for growth and accomplishment.
What will we do together in the coming year? How will use this time and the changes we make as tools for bringing us closer to one another and closer to achieving our goals?
Shabbat shalom u'mevorach -
May Shabbat be filled with rest and blessing.
Laurie
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