Second in a series.
Re: “Living in a Different Kind of Jewish Home”
For the weeklong Jewish holiday of Sukkot, which recalls the Jews’ exodus from Egypt, the frailty of the sukkah, where Jews eat and sleep, the modest structure reminds us of the fragility of this life.
One day we are in a comfortable house. The next, we can lose our walls and security.
Again this festivity reminds us of the less fortunate people, the so many homeless who live in difficult conditions.
At Sukkot last month, I was blessed to really experience the meaning of the holiday.
We had built our sukkah in the morning. I was looking forward to the sunset to start the holiday with prayers and then sit in our sukkah.
I love its simplicity, the closeness to the nature. When the time permits, it is so nice to see the bright stars through the palm branches, to receive the silver rays of the moon.
For two nights, the moon was huge, so beautiful.
Sometimes I feel I actually am in the desert, experiencing the Exodus.
One of my students, who was getting married the following week, wanted my advice in painting her bridesmaids’ dresses. She insisted. Finally, knowing the urgency, I consented. She asked if it was okay to bring her mother who had just arrived in Los Angeles.
I agreed. We had a great class. Nice to see a radiant girl, a soon-to-be bride, and a mother who was celebrating her daughter’s happiness.
The almost-bride was able to achieve her goal.
As the time came, I accompanied them to the door, wishing them all the best in life.
I only had my cellphone in my hands, a modern habit.
However, when I went back upstairs to retrieve my purse and keys, and wanted to open the door, I realized that the almost-bride’s mother, the last to leave, out of habit or by accident, had turned the little lock inside the door.
All the other doors were locked, too. I found myself inside the yard with a cellphone in my hand.
What to do?
(To be continued)
Dr. Rosemary Hartounian Cohen, who lives in the Fairfax District, received her Ph.D in sociology from the Sorbonne in Paris. She lived in two other countries before moving, with her husband and four children, to Los Angeles in 1984. She has published five books in America. Since 1985, she has operated Atelier de Paris, an international art business, on Robertson Boulevard. Her email address is Rosemary@atelierdeparis.com.
