In Memoriam…My Heart Hurts

In Memoriam.

It seems we are forced to say those words more and more often in these turbulent times. I feel I must take a moment to step back and reach out to all of my Jewish friends. My heart hurts for you…and for your faith. I am truly sorry for the tragedy that struck in a synagogue of all places. A place of peace and prayers. 

I visited a synagogue for the second time in my life last summer, and that wonderful visit came to my mind as I tried to wrap my head around the senseless violence that occured in Pennsylvania.

Making challah bread was the reason for my visit to our local synagogue, and that baking lesson gave me a chance to make new friends from MANY faiths. To me, cooking is universal. And food is the glue that binds us ALL together.

We could learn so much about people if we would just sit down and share a plate filled with the foods they love to eat. We could ask how folks eat their meals. Do they use a fork, or chopsticks, or fingers. Maybe folks sit on rugs and hold their plates on their laps. Or maybe they simply pour their food into the middle of the table and use a piece of bread as a utensil. These questions are fascinating to me. But the bottom line is this. Everyone around the world eats food. So that seems like the perfect place to try to find some common ground.

And God knows we need to find common ground these days.

So today, please take a minute to reread my post from last summer. CLICK HERE. I think you’ll see what a warm welcome was waiting for us in that kosher kitchen.

Making bread…then breaking bread together. It was a beautiful thing.

May God bless and heal all of those affected by senseless violence. It’s time to unite. Time to pull up many different chairs around kitchen tables or to sit down cross legged on the rugs of the world…and share a cup of kindness.

In Memoriam.

Shalom…