Turning memories into memoirs

The Rhode Island chapter of Hadassah, a vibrant Jewish Women’s Zionist organization, offered the first part of the “Let’s Talk” 2-part series focused on sharing ways to preserve Jewish family history. The theme was, “Everyone has a story to tell”. The “LET’S TALK” Zoom events offer an opportunity for open discussion about the kinds of issues that develop a stronger Jewish community.

Author Sandra Taradash, from the San Francisco Bay area in California, shared personal situations that were the catalysts for her three different memoirs; “Snippets”, “Chapters” and “Recipes with Lessons.”  She made a case for the obligation to share family histories, and with them lessons about  Jewish values. These values, that were infused into our lives, can then be passed down through the generations in a meaningful way.

Yardena Winkler, who lives in Israel part of the year and is president of the chapter, shared her interpretation of them. The values that are often modeled in Jewish homes include justice (“tzedakah”), loving-kindness (“chesed”), community responsibility (“kol Yisrael arevim zeh lazeh”), respect (“kavod”), repairing the world (“tikun olam”) and treating others with dignity (“derekh eretz”). The emphasis here is on ethical conduct and contributing positively to society.

Participants were sent a list of prompt questions prior to the presentation. This was followed by a revised list and a set of tools to help them write their own memoirs.  The questions were designed to access recollections, happy or not, that highlighted prominent and important memories with which to enrich their accounts.

Donna, a member of the program committee, offered a memory that inspired the process of starting her own memoir. She starts with:

“Once upon a time, I had a “magic table”… Every Sunday my parents and I would go to my grandparents’ home. There we sat at a small wooden table and ate a meal, but when we had company during the Jewish holidays that’s when the table grew. I always wondered how the table got so big! It had 2 leaves and was quite a project to open. The table would open up with an extra set of legs that came down.  I had no idea growing up that so many people could sit around it. The table represented family and love and food. All Jewish values.”

Sandra said, “stories like these build connections from the past, to the present and often mold the future. They have the power to unite people and create special memories.” Taradash kindly offered her assistance via email or phone to all participants as they began the process.

The second part of the program on Tuesday, March 18th at 7 p.m.  is open to all. Contact chapRI@hadassah.org  to be included.

Hadassah, the Women’s Zionist Organization of America, was established in 1912. Working to advance philanthropy as well as women’s leadership, advocacy and health, Hadassah has over 300,000 members and supporters.

ROBERTA K. SCHNEIDER is the chair of the Hadassah RI program committee.