“Of things I should be thankful for, I’ve had a goodly share
And as I sit here in the comfort of a cozy chair,
My fancy takes me to a humble east side tenement.
Five people in two bedrooms is where my childhood days were spent.
It wasn’t much like Paradise, but ‘mid the dirt and all
There was the sweetest angel, one that I fondly call…..
My Yiddishe Momme.”
A Yiddishe Momma keeps the house so clean that you can eat off the floor, and where cooking is concerned she has more “BAM” than Emeril because momma’s meals were made with one ingredient that Emeril can’t get. They were made with a momma’s love … and a momma’s hands.
As Barbara J. Hall wrote, “In my mother’s hands, I saw the hard work that she had done for me. I saw the caring those hands provided for my benefit throughout the years …” When I think of momma’s hands, I can still picture them waving magically over the Shabbat Candles as she benshed lecht. And, even before that, I can picture her kneading a batch of dough and braiding it into a perfect Challah for Shabbat.
And, as Barbara J. Hall continues, “In my mother’s face, I saw the hopes and dreams she held for me that were so plainly written there.”
From the time that I was born, momma dreamed of being able to see me standing under the Chupa. In fact, when I was born that was the blessing given to her by others — “May you be privileged to escort your son under the Chupa.”
A Chupa … a wedding canopy … we even sing about it at services on Friday nights. “L’Cha Dodi” … come let us greet the Bride of Sabbath … come let us greet the Sabbath Bride.
More than 2 billion people were all glued to a wedding recently. Many who never find the time to go to their House of Worship made sure to get up at four in the morning just to watch The Royal Wedding.
When one agrees to wed, they realize that another soul has won the key to their heart. Actually, it is not so much that one soul has won the key to another’s heart, but that both now share the same key. And, at the wedding, the Prince and Princess were indeed given a key. But that key was not in a place that too many of us would have thought to find it. It was inside a Challah. There is a custom among some pertaining to the baking of a Shliss Challah. This is usually done on the Shabbat following Pesach. I’ll bet most of you have never heard of a Shliss Challah. Well, now you know that it is a challah with a house key baked into it.
By the way, there was also a Ketubah at the Royal Wedding. A Ketubah is a contract between the bride and the groom. Oddly enough, Shabbat is also a contract … as we have agreed to honor and observe it.
There are many different ways to honor and observe Shabbat. The key is to treat it like a Royal Wedding. Prepare for it. Look forward to it. Invite family and friends to join you. Have special foods for one and all. Have blessings recited. Sing songs. Oops, and I almost forgot … while you’re making up your guest list … don’t forget to invite G-d in.
Now, let us celebrate this most blessed of days together as one heart and one soul. That is the key.
Shalom My Friends,
Rabbi Craig H. Ezring
Rabbi Ezring is a Hospice Chaplain and Member of the National Association of Jewish Chaplains. He also provides Professional Pastoral Care Services to a number of health centers in Broward County.
