Blessings Amidst the Storm
These are strange and frightening times. We have a war on our hands. The enemy is invisible. It sneaks in and attacks. One minute a person is alive and the next they are dead, unless they are lucky enough to survive. In the past few months, it has swept across the world and has killed thousands upon thousands of people. All activities have stopped. People are hunkering down in their homes. We are told to stay indoors in order to stave off this pandemic. That is what they call it, a pandemic, just like the plague decimated London town centuries ago; just like the Spanish flu which swept across the universe in 1918 and mercilessly felled people left, right, and center. Some people work. Their work is essential. Their jobs provide the rest of us with sustenance. They are the heroes. They endanger their lives to help maintain their city.
People are cooped up in their homes. They are isolated. The couple with their young family living in a one-bedroom apartment feels so frustrated. They have no private space to escape to for a little while. The frightened ninety-year-old widow isolated from her family, unable to see her children and grandchildren. She’s too precious to them. They leave food and other necessities behind her front door, but she must see no one. Her home reverberates with heavy silence. The mentally abused broken man who was just beginning to gain freedom and control of his life after his father passed away loved to wander about Manhattan to witness the life that pulsed in his city. Now that he is unable to do so, he is regressing. The willful young man who felt he was invincible to the virus passed away suddenly. “Why? Why? Why?” His family asks to no one in particular as they wipe away their bitter tears. They receive no answer. The grim reaper has stealthily snatched their child away…
There are no cars passing on the deserted streets, no sound of laughing children playing on the sidewalks. There are no parents waiting for the school bus to arrive and take their children to school. They are now being taught remotely, each in his own protective niche. Times have dramatically changed. To people like me, who struggle with technology, it is incomprehensible, sheer magic. The classical music that I love is being transmitted by several people sitting in their own homes, not from their station. How could that be, I wonder?
And then comes Passover. It is going to be a sad one. Families will not be able to gather together; such a lonely one, I think to myself, as I go about my preparation of a seder for two. But I am so very wrong! Again technology comes into play. Our seder is shared by my siblings and our families on four different time zones, even my brand new great-grandniece and her parents are there. This adorable bundle of joy is at the hospital recuperating from some complications. She will be out in a few weeks. Her papa, Jeph, is protectively carrying her against his chest. Her mother, Allyson, smiles proudly. She has what to smile about. That baby is gorgeous! I do not say this because I am her great aunt. That’s what everyone always accuses me of, that I am prejudiced when it comes to my family. She really, truly is! I am able to chat with my nephew, Daniel’s wife, Ilana, for the first time. She has gone through very stringent cancer treatments and emerged weak but cancer-free. Peter, Jeph’s brother, is at the corner of the screen. He is quiet and shy. He had promised to visit me two years ago, at Renata’s wedding. I am still waiting. My nephew David, Daniel’s older brother, appears briefly, decked out in the most protective gear. He is a doctor and is in the hospital treating Coronavirus patients. I pray for his safety. To me, he appears as if he is taking a trip to Mars in his outfit. That outfit hopefully protects him. He does not have time to share in our seder. His appearance is brief. With a big smile and a “Chag Sameyach,” he waves his hand and hurries back to treating the people who have fallen victim to this curse. Renata and Dan are there as well. When I saw Dan for the first time, he reminded me so much of my Peter. It was a month after my Peter had passed away. We had a memorial service at the graveside. Renata had brought Dan with her. He had the same mannerism as my Peter. The longer I saw him, the more convinced I became that Peter had chosen him for Renata. And I told them so. Peter loved Renata very much. There was almost nothing he would not do for her. This coming September, Renata and Dan would be married three years. I pray their marriage proves as blessed as ours was. Late as usual, Ariel, her brother, finally appeared. He is our scamp, our imp. He charms his aunts, and to each of us, he whispers, “You are my favorite aunt.” We smile and shake our heads! That boy! He is so very incorrigible!
I smile happily as I look at the crowded screen and see my gorgeous daughter, Jessica, and my precious grandson, Teal sitting side by side. With Kelly sitting next to me, here are all the fruit that was produced by us siblings and their children and children’s children. Papa, Mama, you have done beautifully. I know you are smiling down at us from heaven, or perhaps you are holding a seder there as well?
Did I think this was going to be a lonely seder? It hasn’t. Not at all! I feel as if blessings have rained upon my head. Just as I write that last phrase, the rain comes rushing down to earth. It affirms my thoughts. It hits the kitchen window where the climbing rose bush nestles. My children had bought it for me on Mother’s Day many years ago when they were quite young. As we have gone forth and multiplied, so has that rosebush. Its progenitors surround the house and the homes of some of my friends. Yes, I am a very fortunate woman.
The hustle and bustle of last night are gone. The only sound in the house is that of the gently humming kettle with the teapot nestled on top of it.
Just as the Ten Plagues passed over the Israelites of Biblical times, may this pandemic curse quickly pass over our world. Amen.
Chag Sameyach, and to my Christian friends and family, a Happy Easter and Chag Sameyach! That means a peaceful and happy holiday…