50th birthday musings

I had a great 50th birthday last week. The highlight was a book Alen put together of writings and pictures from friends and family who have known me in all parts of my life. I guess 50 years is a long time - I was surprised by the range of people who responded and my heart was warmed by the beautiful things people said and sent, including photos of me I don't ever remember seeing.

I have so much gratitude on this birthday. I often say I was 40 years old and did not know if I would have children. In the past decade we've had the kids, bought a home, made so many friends. We've had very sad losses, and I believe that through it all, I have grown.

On Saturday night we had a party at the Kehillah (congregation) that we are part of. Over 100 people came, including a lot of children. I had made a program of songs (which I will send to you on request). Some students from HUC who are connected with our congregation came and played guitar and Mira from the congregation played flute. I had chosen a mixture of Hebrew and English songs that mean something to me. It was a lot of fun singing. I should also mention that people brought wonderful food. It was impressive to me that after almost 11 years here we could pull together such a big group - including some people I've known for 20 or 30 years - from before we moved here. My cousins (distant cousins who live here and in Jerusalem) were there which was great, and many people from work and from all facets of our life here. Sagit from the congregation gave a beautiful blessing, talking about Avigail from the Bible.

I spoke at the party about third places and the importance for me of having a community, the congregation, as a third place in addition to family and work, a place where I and my family can be known by another group. The congregation is really important to me, and at the same time, it has been a humbling experience to work on trying to build it and keep it strong. The challenges of lay leadership are larger than I would have ever thought possible and I am in awe of the people who give their heart and soul to congregations all over the world to build meaningful communities.

If you are reading this and would like to celebrate my birthday with a donation to Kehillat Tzur Hadassah, it will mean a great deal to me and to my family. Thank you to everyone who made this birthday celebration so special - it was a wonderful feeling that I hope will stay with me for the next decade!