Sunday, June 10, 2007

The Links

My friend and I hadn't resumed talking yet
when along the same stretch of sidewalk,
giving off a majestic air of regal tranquility and ease,
two women came strolling into view.
It was Henny Machlis and one of her married daughters,
on their way to the Kotel, and all at once I understood.
Without explaining myself to my friend,
I jumped up and crossed the street. "Henny!"
By Sarah Shapiro

She came to America from Romania
when she was eight years old
and though she spoke English well,
I personally never heard her use a sentence
that didn't contain some Yiddish.
And there was the Yiddish song
that she used to sing to my siblings and me.
A tragic folksong really, composed by a woman
whose husband had died of tuberculosis.
Grandma Rose learned it while rocking the cradle
of the woman's fatherless daughter.
By Peter Himmelman
,
Special thanks to my brother
who passed me the two articles above
from the fresh stash of printed articles in his tallis bag.

2 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Those are great articles....

I had a Bubbie Rose too.

June 10, 2007 at 9:01 AM  
Blogger rabbi neil fleischmann said...

Thanks - glad it resonated for you.

June 10, 2007 at 9:14 AM  

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