Sunday
Dec052010
From One Generation to Another
December 5, 2010 * * * * * Posted by: Marcie 
With them they carried candlesticks..kiddush cups…prayer books and shawls. They brought covers for their Friday night bread..and cloths to cover their tables. They took their menorahs…and seder plates. They brought with them only what was most precious and valued..and what would remind them of who they are. Time after time – as Jews throughout history were forced to leave their eastern European shtetls..their towns..their cities in which they’d lived and loved and called home – it was to these ritual ‘objects’ that they held on most tight.
They hid them in bales of hay…in feather mattresses..in hidden pockets of coats and jackets. They sewed them into the heels of worn boots and shoes. Some – if time allowed – buried these ritualistic treasures in their backyards. Hoping that – someday – they would return to their homes..and that these would be there waiting for them. Not confiscated and destroyed by those who wished for every trace and sign of them and their people to disappear…but kept safe beneath the good earth.
They were the ‘things’ that identified them as a religion..as a culture..as a people. They were ‘things’ that tied them to God…connected them to their past..and would bring them together into their future.
Today is the 5th day of Chanukah…an 8-day festival of light and celebration of a miracle that happened centuries ago. It dates back to Alexander the Great and his successors and their attempt to desecrate their temple and massacre the Jews. The story – as I know it – is about Judah Maccabee who led the Hasmonim in a revolt that saved the temple and its people from destruction. The miracle is in the single drop of oil that – by all measures – shouldn’t have lasted for more than one day…but kept the candles burning brightly for an entire eight. Eight days of fighting for the right to survive. Eight days from revolution to resolution and victory.
It’s not a particularly religious holiday..nor one that carries any real great significance and weight. It is a joyous holiday….filled with spinning dreidles and latkes and applesauce. The words inscribed on the dreidles remind us that a great miracle did – indeed – happen there. The potatoes fried in oil.. remind us that it was that one drop that kept the flames afire. It is one in which we honor the light. On each of the eight nights – we add one more candle until the entire menorah is filled and burning bright.
Like all rituals and traditions..it is one that is passed on from one generation to the next.
The menorah I light..comes from my mother..who was given it by hers..and hers given by hers before that. I imagine it was packed in haste during one of the pogroms in Eastern Europe. That a great..great..great grandmother – thought to hide it in a straw mattress they loaded onto their wooden cart. A cart that was one of many …a part of a forced mass exodus from their little shtetl. I imagine that – once settled and safe in a more western European country – she one day gave it to her daughter…who passed it along and thru the generations from one to the next. I like to think that it traveled on an old steamer ship – secretly and securely hidden – as it crossed the Atlantic and landed on these shores. I like to imagine the lives it’s led..the lives it’s seen…the family that it has loved and those who have loved it back.
Eight little candle holders..and a crooked six-pointed star (magen david) marking center. Its imperfection is a perfect testament to its journeys. Both from where it came..and where it will go. It’s a reminder of what it is they carried..and why. And – that someday I will pass this menorah on to children of mine. One more miracle..in a long long line.
Reader Comments (20)
I like this religious ritual- traded from generation to generation- very much- and I see four candles burning -and the shabbes, of course- -a very atmospheric, sensitive photo with gentle reflections in the window and a fine toning - and the boy looks so absorbed and serious at the candles -it is good and important to have the long, long Jewish history from Jerusalem ... into the Diaspora, from the Shtetls in Eastern Europe to the new world of America.......... always in mind. In our town a big menorah has been put on near the synagogue, and every day a new candle is lighted...a fine ritual, too.
This image brings tears to my eyes, Marcie...of joy and sadness. I have an instinctive need to reach out and cradle this 'thing,' this 'object,' that carries so much meaning. It would be the first thing I'd grab in a fire...or mass-exodus. I'd figure out where to hide it and would pray to God it would stay safe, forever. Thank you for sharing the bittersweetness of this story...YOUR story and history. We are better people for knowing you, Marcie.
Sorry: I meant: Schamash
What a gift to treasure -- the precious 'object,' the history, the memories. And a gift to share -- with your family.
Keeping family traditions often becomes even more important to us as we get older.
Thank you, once again, for so beautifully sharing an intimate peek into what makes you who you are. And, thank you for such a kind, gentle, loving image.
Thank you for sharing this
Beautiful image, beautiful post. Thank you.
wow. i am listening to chaka kahn and simply red sing, "everything must change" and reading your posting with chills. what a gorgeous verbiage, marcie, to light us all with hope for any season. i don't know what filter you're using (if any) on that image, but it is beautiful.
happy chanukah and latke time and all that miracles mean to us all.
Marcie, once again I am thanking you for a most beautiful image. This time there is an added thank you for your beautiful words. You are very much a woman who shares and teaches, and that is appreciated by so many.
This is treasure, Marcie. The menorah, and this post.
And this holiday must be why Don and I had a sudden craving for French fries last night! Sure enough, we heated oil and fried two potatoes. Lekahim!
Thank you for your beautiful words.
A beautiful picture, a beautiful post. When I read it I could picture the handcart with the few treasures on it, an icy winter morning, the desperation AND the hope. The history of your menorah, what a rich memory for your children. I agree with Sue that keeping family traditions becomes more important the older we get. - One of our favorite meals when we were kids was "Kartoffelpuffer mit Apfelmus" which is pretty much like latkes with apple sauce. Both my maternal and paternal families come from the East from where they brought their recipes as well.
Happy Chanukah, Marcie, and thank you for this beautiful post.
I agree with the others, Marcie, such a beautiful and bittersweet post. Most will never understand nor comprehend the history, but your words help shed a little light ... umm, pun NOT intended ...
Oh I am filled with such emotion reading this! It is the way it's supposed to be, this time of year. Happy Hanukkah Marcie.
It is so hard to fathom, what this treasure you hold could have seen in its travels.
But what a wonderful tribute, that it is with you, still being lit, honored, still part of your tradition. And that it will be passed down to your children and theirs and so on.
I felt so moved by your words, Marcie... Thanks for sharing your deepest thoughts and personal history. Belated Happy Hanukkah.
just so very beautiful in its light and history ...
Left a lump in my throat. Remembrance, also of what you don't even know. The value of a ritual, binding people together.
You seem to think there was safety in moving into western Europe. Not true. Many a western European country also used progroms, and other unsavoury methods to deal with the Jewish problem. History shows over and over how fairly normal situations are made out to be problematic in order to sanctify laying your hands on what belongs to another.
your posts are always so beautifully written marcie, but i find this one so moving...lots more to say, but can't think of the words...only that reading it made everything move a little slower for a while (if that makes sense)
So beautiful! For my daughter's bat mitzvah last spring, our new rabbi invited us to use family candle holders for Shabbat during the service. My mother brought my great-great-grandmother's candle sticks...and we gathered round...my mother, my two daughters, my sisters, nieces and me and lit those beautiful brass candle sticks as generations of our family members had done before in front of our congregation as we welcomed in Shabbat and celebrated the bat mitzvah of my mother's youngest grandchild...Thank you for bringing THAT memory back for me.
I'm so happy to have discovered your beautiful blog!
A beautiful tradition to share with your family and then you will pass it on to your kids. I'm not a religious person in the way that I go to church and so. But I appreciate the traditions and celebrations connected with my religion. A beautiful post Marcie and as Ginnie says -We are better people knowing you.