Sometimes my Bubie tells us stories that are connected with the holidays that we are celebrating. Our parents do not let us go to our Bubie’s and Zada’s house to celebrate holidays but we often get a story that makes it seem that maybe our Bubie and Zada are with us. My father likes to buy my brother a new bekeshe, which is a long black coat that Chasidim wear, for Passover. I don’t know if my brother likes to wear the bekeshe because it is usually only worn by Rebbe’s sons and he isn’t a Rebbe’s son. So my Bubie told him this story to make him feel that the bekeshe he was wearing was something special and magical just for him.
Fradella
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It is hard to write a story when you are sad. The Rabbis tell us that we should always be B’Simcha, happy, but sometimes there are things that make you sad and you have to work through it to try to come out of the tunnel of darkness into the light. My Bubie told me that there was once a king who told his jeweler that he wanted him to make him a ring that had a saying on it that when he felt sad it would make him happy and when he felt happy he would be grateful for his happiness because he would know that it would not last forever. The wise jeweler inscribed on the ring the following words- THIS TOO SHALL PASS. This is a story about a person who was feeling sad and then she was able to begin to feel happy, but it took work and it took time.
Fradella My Bubie believes that most people in the world try to do good things but, there are also bad people and we need try to fight them and hope that they are punished for the pain that they cause others. The next story is about someone who lost something precious to someone who was bad. My Bubie says we should try to think positive, even about a bad situation. Sometimes I have trouble doing that. She says, “Remember, sometimes you may lose something very precious but you must always have hope that it will be found again someday. You may feel sad, but don’t be very, very sad. When there is hope, there is the possibility to be happy too”.
Fradella Some people believe that the way to change the world is to work on changing yourself and by becoming a part of a community that separates itself from the rest of the world. Others think that you can change yourself and the world by coming closer to others in different communities. These are two different ways of looking at what our job is in this world. My Bubie believes that a community that separates itself from other communities can be dangerous because the Jewish people have a role to bring light to ourselves and to others. A community that wants to separate from everyone lives in darkness. We are a people who are not afraid to disagree, to have arguments and to make compromises. It is part of our tradition. Sometimes something or someplace that may seem good is actually very bad. The next story is about a community that lives in darkness, which my Bubie says we must reject. Of course these are only kitty cats.
Fradella Sometimes we like to play tricks and games that we think are fun or funny. My Bubie loves to laugh but she also does not like to see people get hurt. Bubie says that a game that causes someone to feel badly or embarrassed or worried is not really a fun game. Not being sensitive to other people’s feelings is not a good character trait to have. I try to be sensitive but I am still young and sometimes what I think is funny, may not be funny to adults, as you will see in the next story.
Fradella My Bubie believes that all people have many things in common with one another, especially women. She likes to tell us stories about characters, who travel to many places to learn new things, meet new people and have adventures. However, wherever the people in our Bubie’s stories go, they find out more things that they share with others than the things that are different. The next story is about Rivki, who travels before she is ready to get married. She is curious about every place and every person. Someday maybe I too will travel places, perhaps even with my Bubie!
Sometimes my Bubie lets me help her write her stories. She asks me questions in the middle of her stories and depending on how I answer, she continues the story. This is fun for me and also fun for her, I think. The next story comes out of my desire and my sisters’ desire to have lots of shoes. My Bubie and Zada buy us shoes for Rosh Hashanah (Jewish New Year) and Pesach (Passover). Sometimes, if my shoes break or become uncomfortable, I can convince my Bubie to buy me another pair at another time and of course this means that all of the grandchildren will get new shoes a third time during the year!
Fradella My Bubie feels that it is important to talk about bad things that could happen to people and to think about how we can prevent them from happening. In our community girls often get married at a very young age. My Bubie feels that this is not the best idea. Also, she wonders, do girls learn about how important it is to know, if someone is mean to them who they can go to for help? She worries about these things because she has heard stories about young women not being able to protect themselves if they marry someone who hurts them or is mean to them. I do not worry about these things but maybe I should think about what if I or one of my sisters or one of my friends is matched with a boy who is not nice. This is what happened to the woman in the next story and we can learn something from her.
Fradella Sometimes people stare at someone who looks different or acts differently. My Bubie says that not everyone is the same. Hashem (God) gave different gifts to every person and also different challenges. We cannot know what another person has to overcome in his life and that is why my Bubie says that Hashem put us here to help each other with all of our hardships. We should try not to stare at people who look different and we should try to help when we can. I think this is a good idea. My parents try to help people too. It is sometimes hard to make friends with people who are different, but my Bubie says that it is important and you can see this from the next story which she told us.
Fradella My Bubie believes that it is important to look past how a person dresses, or if they are beautiful on the outside and have no physical problems. In my community there is a lot of emphasis put on the clothes someone is wearing and whether or not they have a health problem. Sometimes a person won’t want to marry you if you are deaf or blind or walk funny or even if you come from a family where they weren’t religious. My Bubie says that we always have to try to “see” what a person really is like by how they treat other people, weaker people and also animals. She may be right, I’m not sure. Can someone really “see” if they are blind? My Bubie thinks so, as you can read in the next story she told us.
Fradella |