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8 Av 5762 - July 17, 2002 | Mordecai Plaut, director Published Weekly
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Home and Family
BOOK REVIEW
A Gift Passed Along

by Sarah Shapiro
Reviewed by Yonina Hall

It used to be, in our somewhat complacent lives in Eretz Yisroel, that news of a stabbing or bombing attempt was something that happened to `other' people. We knew which places were `safer' than others, and clung to the belief that "lightning doesn't strike twice." Even if we were occasionally delayed by police examining a chefetz chashud (suspicious object), it usually turned out to be only a mislaid package of diapers or a child's forgotten lunch tote.

Today, however, everyone is caught in terrorism's grip. Those who have found themselves at the scene of a suicide bombing or bus attack, r'l, are our friends, our neighbors, even ourselves. We are no longer complacent. Instead, we have the distinct feeling that "wherever we run, it will be into G- d's inescapable embrace."

In her new book, A Gift Passed Along, Sarah Shapiro expresses the thoughts of many who have made Eretz Yisroel their home. This collection of 50 essays - - some provocative, others poetic, a few whimsical -- cover the gamut of experiences and emotions that we all encounter in Eretz Hakodesh. The underlying message is one we tell ourselves and our overseas relatives who ask about our welfare: This is our home, and we wouldn't want to live anywhere else.

The inquisitive journalist in Mrs. Shapiro records many occurrences that could only happen in this Land of contrasts: Shabbos demonstrations on Rechov Bar Ilan; face-to-face encounters with Arab women and Arab taxi drivers; Israeli soldiers clashing with Jewish civilians. Insights from shiurim and sefarim help the observer make sense of these extraordinary events.

When the Middle Eastern experience seems too discordant, too "un-American" in its apparent lack of civility or fairness, the Western olah may be tempted to cry: "Let's go back to Connecticut" (or whatever state or country you came from). Yet both she and we know that it's not really an option. "I will not be packing my bags to go back where I came from," Mrs. Shapiro concludes one essay. "I would never have the zechus of witnessing a passionate struggle over Shabbos in the suburbs of Connecticut."

Indeed, despite the incongruities and volatility of life in Eretz Yisroel, who among us would ever think of leaving? The inherent beauty of the Land and its people rivet us more firmly than the political turmoil. Where else would we meet remarkable personalities, great and small, and absorb their priceless wisdom? Like Hagaon R' Chaim Pinchos Sheinberg shlita, who in one of these essays responds to a shaila about feeding stray cats, with seriousness and laughter. Like Rebbetzin Esther Siegel, who shares her secret for raising happy, self confident children. Or an ordinary neighbor like Bracha, who, while dying of cancer, teaches Mrs. Shapiro what's truly important:

"One time [Bracha] called up a little after 1 o'clock and asked what I was doing. Feeling bored and depressed, I said I was just making lunch and waiting for the children to come home from school.

"`How nice!' she sighed, affectionately. `You're making lunch. And waiting for the children to come home from school. Isn't that nice.'

"How much pleasure Bracha took in having energy and mobility - - the ability to do. As I go about my various life chores, I try to bear in mind how one woman treasured the privilege of standing before a stove, sweeping a floor, taking out the garbage, putting in a load of laundry, folding towels, serving a meal, cleaning up afterwards.

"As she used to say, `Enjoy it, mammele, it doesn't last forever.' "

Several essays in A Gift Passed Along explore the growth process of the ba'alas tshuva who would also never think of "going back." Mrs. Shapiro vividly contrasts the emptiness of her former lifestyle with the wholesomeness of raising children and grandchildren in the pure Torah environment of Jerusalem. Many of her everyday activities seamlessly strengthen her connection to the Ribbono Shel Olam and the awareness of purpose and meaning in life.

The author also paints the rainbow of emotions that vie for expression in a woman's heart. One delightful "flight of fancy" finds her riding with her friend over a beautiful blue sea, all the time worrying about a pot of beans she left cooking on her stovetop. Buying a new watch arouses conflicting thoughts of humility, self- gratification, and grappling with the lure of olam hazeh. As in her previous books, Mrs. Shapiro is not afraid to express her feelings of insecurity or uncertainty as she struggles to be a good wife, mother and daughter. Her honesty lets readers feel good about themselves, too.

Probing, candid, and wide-ranging, A Gift Passed Along pulsates with a woman's love for Eretz Yisrael, bounded by the Torah and Hashem's everlasting embrace.

 

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