Although summer will
be over by the time you read this, I can’t help but reflect on our amazing
vacation experience this summer as well as express my gratitude for past vacations
grand or simple. I do love summer. It is a great time to explore Hashem’s world
and to spend time with family – and even with oneself in self-discovery and
introspection. Summer is a break from the mundane stresses that abound in day-to-day
living. It is a season that can herald adventures and experiences and can help
us refocus on what’s truly important. I have seen many beautiful mountains,
bodies of water, sunrises and sunsets, and the occasional bear. I have enjoyed
delicious barbecues and night kumzitzes with my children. I have observed their
awe of His world at Niagara Falls. Most importantly, I have seen them relaxed
and happy to just “be.”
Our summer this
year did not disappoint. We drove to the Smoky Mountains of Tennessee, a repeat
destination because my family loved it the first time around. As always when
going on such a trip, I wonder in the back of my mind, after packing not just
the clothing but all the food and utensils, whom we will meet on this
expedition. Last year, we were pleasantly surprised to encounter a bunch of frum people from different states in our
remote location of the Smokies! In typical fashion, they offered us food and a
minyan!
This year was a
bit different. While we did not meet one Orthodox Jew, we did meet Jews who
were very proud to notice us (alerted by my husband’s and sons’ yarmulkes and tzitzis) and made a point of saying they
were Jewish too. The first was at a gas station; we were filling up when my
kids noticed that the car in front of us had a bumper sticker with an Israeli
flag that said, “We stand with Israel” and Arkansas license plates. I was so
ecstatic to see this at this difficult time that our people has been experiencing.
Without hesitation, I hopped out of the car and knocked on their window. The
man rolled down his window hesitantly, took in my tichel, and smiled widely when I told him that I too support
Israel! With his buzz cut and tattooed arms, he was not your typical-looking
Jew, but he was Jew and proud of it! Plus, I learned that there was a Jewish
community in Arkansas!
On our two-hour
hike to the beautiful waterfall, we met a Jewish woman and her daughter, who
was very happy to share with us, right there on the mountain, the latest
Israeli victory. We walked down together, sharing our Jewish ancestry. She also
told us about her daughter’s recent bas mitzvah. The daughter, with her mother
proudly looking on, told us how she really wants to learn the Hebrew alphabet.
Later, when we went souvenir shopping, which is always part of our vacation
itinerary, we met two Israelis in the town of Gatlinburg, who were working in a
skin care shop (of course). The shop had a mezuzah on it. As we were exchanging
words on the wonder of finding another Jew, the Israeli young woman remarked, “Tamid, yesh b’chol makom,” there are
Jews everywhere. How true. She proceeded to tell me about someone in a store
down the block who was putting on tefillin
one morning, when a fellow in another building on the second floor saw this and
came down later to do the same. We bade farewell and wished each other a shana tova.
Finally, as we
were about to leave, a man who was handing out coupons for free dessert called
out to us that he knew we probably ate kosher but here was a coupon anyway. Of
course, that drew us into conversation, and it turns out that, while he himself
was not Jewish, he was raised by an Israeli man named Baruch – he was gratified
to learn it meant blessing – and shared with us his knowledge of Hebrew and
Judaism. He wished us shalom and off we went, scratching our heads at meeting Yidden
and supporters of Israel in the most unlikely of places.
It was so soothing
to meeting landsmen, and so uplifting
to see that maybe not everyone hates us after all. These wonderful experiences
of am Yisroel chai at a time that is
so fraught with scary stories, a time when the world hates us, was a welcome
reprieve.
The adventures
don’t end there. We ended up in
Charlotte, North Carolina, for Shabbos and gladly accepted the invitation of
Rabbi Chanoch and Mrs. Chanoch and Sarah Oppenheim after my husband emailed to
find out about the shul. Hashgacha
had it that our neighbor and Rabbi Oppenheim go way back and have a chavrushaft every day over the phone. We
knew we were in good hands, but having never met these people, we were still
not one hundred percent sure. Our children were also not too thrilled about
having to stay with strangers, which is not our usual modus operandi. But they
had no choice. Begrudgingly, they came along, and we brought along the Kichels
game just in case. It turned out we had one of the most special Shabbosim of
our life. This very special rav and rebbetzin personified what we felt with
every interaction with other Jews on this trip: the simchas hachaim of being a Yid. Witnessing firsthand how they serve
Hashem in what some would call a midbar (desert),
with enthusiasm and dedication to teaching Torah and mitzvos and treating every
person with warmth and respect was humbling and inspiring indeed. Lo ra’av lalechem v’lo tzama l’mayim ki im lishmoa
es divrei Hashem – their hunger was not for bread nor their thirst for
water, rather to hear the words of Hashem. This is how they run their Torah Center. Meeting people from all walks
of life who were thrilled to be at a Shabbos table was an eye-opening
experience for my children who, b”H, live in the Torah world we take for
granted.
Interestingly, we
came for the Shabbos of parshas Mattos-Massei, where the Torah details
the 42 places the Yidden traveled in the midbar.
My husband kept saying there was a reason we needed to come for Shabbos,
especially after discovering the mistake that it was a four-hour trip instead
of the one hour we thought!
There were several
moments that spoke to me, and while I’m not sure of the reason, it is no
mistake that the rav and rebbetzin live on Providence Road. Indeed, we are all
on a divinely ordained journey. How beautiful it is to share that with other
Jews in the midbar of this Galus. Hinei mah tov u’mah naim sheves achim gam yachad – How good and
pleasant it is for brothers to dwell together.
May we see the Geulah soon in our days.
