Hi,
Hope you’re having a great day.
Passover is around the corner!
And I wanted to share one more thing about my Uncle Jack.
… At the Seder we celebrate our freedom.
But first we remember our suffering as a People.
Our slavery in Egypt and the many enemies who have tried to destroy us.
Why is it so important that we do that?
Because the Torah teaches that being persecuted does not give us rights.
It gives us responsibility.
To remember what it means to be persecuted.
And to always be sensitive to others who are in pain or in need.
… At our family Seder this was not just philosophy.
Not with Uncle Jack at the table!
After liberation my uncle studied radio mechanics at an Ort vocational school in Germany.
And he arrived in America all alone in November of 1947.
With seven dollars in his pocket!
He worked very hard and became a successful television and radio repairman.
(You’re probably too young to know what that was.
There was a time when if something broke?
You didn’t throw it out. You actually had it fixed!)
… When I was a kid my father was in the retail business.
At one point he needed to make a career change.
And he didn’t have any training in anything else.
What did my Uncle Jack do?
A man whose humanity the Nazis wanted to destroy?
And who they hoped would be reduced to an animal and think only of self preservation?
He taught my father, his brother in law, the business!
His attitude was?
“There’s enough out there for both of us!”
Despite the fact that my Dad lived in the same neighborhood.
And would be serving the same pool of people!
… My Uncle Jack will be with his family for the Seder.
But I will always think of him at our Seder.
And I hope that you will too!
All the best,