A version of this story appeared in my High Holiday prayerbook:
A rabbi named Zusya died and went to stand before the judgment seat of God. As he waited for God to appear, he grew nervous thinking about his life and how little he had done. He began to imagine that God was going to ask him, "Why weren't you Moses or why weren't you Solomon or why weren't you David?" But when God appeared, the rabbi was surprised. God simply asked, "Why weren't you Zusya?"
Source: http://chippit.tripod.com/tales1.html
We are all supposed to be the best us. As we bid farewell in September to my grandmother Betty Schiff after 95 extraordinary years, our family dug deep to find our best Betty stories.
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Betty on her 95th birthday
(Feb 2014)
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She was a lovely, gracious woman who made a deep and lasting impression on everyone she knew.
As a child she attended the Friends School of Wilmington and in a precocious example of her ability to find compromise, she used to meet her friend Frieda in the middle of the street to walk to school together so neither one had to walk to the other's house.
She loved to make candy and give it out as a gift: but who knew that for many years she made chopped liver
and delivered it herself for the Jewish prisoners at the Ohio State Penitentiary?
Betty had a competitive spirit and was playing bridge (and decisively winning!) right up to the end. And yes, she went out for her weekly hair and manicure appointments up to one week before she passed.
We all have our own spark, our own uniqueness and gifts. My grandmother made the most of her life and in this period of reflection, I wish for all of you (and myself) to live a true, authentic life that is unique and wholly your own.
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| Four generations circa 2010 |
