Dear Samuel, oh alright I'll try to use your grown up name, Dear Sam,
Ok, you are my only nephew, but you are still my favorite! This morning was your Bar Mitzvah. I was so happy to be there & I was proud of all of the hard work you put into studying. You did a wonderful job.
Your father's Bar Mitzvah was in Springfield, Illinois. He also did a good job. He wore a tie I picked out for him. I remember lots of people & eating salmon. (sound familiar?) There was a famous person there. The Governor came! His name was Otto Kerner (look him up, but NOT on Wikipedia!) He was a friend of your Grandfather Siegel. Thankfully, your grandfather wasn't too friendly with the Governor, cause like a lot of Illinois politicians, he eventually was tried, convicted & sent to prison for something involving bribes.
Another Bar Mitzvah that stands out in my memory was our cousin Steven. He also did a good job & the party was fun. There was also a famous person at that simcha. An author named Herman Wouk attended. You can look him up too. I was very impressed to meet him, but as I admitted in a previous blog post, I was a little tipsy when I met him. There is a funny story about an exchange between Aunt Patricia & Uncle Stanley before the party started. Uncle Stanley wanted to move Mr Wouk's books to a more prominent location in the house, but that would mean they would need to be on the same shelves as the Torah books. Aunt Patricia said he was a great author, but she didn't think he could compete with Hashem. I think the books stayed where they were. Herman Wouk did NOT go to jail. Recently, B"H, he celebrated his 100th birthday by publishing another book "Sailor and Fiddler: Reflections of a 100-Year-Old Author".
I think the famous people at your Bar Mitzvah today were your Great Grandfather Lewis- Eliezer- Siegel(who you are named after), the previous Lubavitcher Rebbe & his successor The Rebbe Menachem Mendel Schneerson. In the 1940's, Grandpa donated money to Chabad. He would bring the donations in person when he was in Crown Heights. We really didn't know this story until Rabbi Shemtov's father was visiting in Tucson & met your Grandfather Siegel. It turned out the Rabbi's father recognized the Siegel name & asked if our family was from Lancaster, Pennsylvania. He remembered Grandpa Siegel! I don't believe in coincidences. This was all meant to be. Your Great Grandfather contributed to the very organization that educated Rabbi Shemtov, who in turn educated you. You are a product of the generations that came before.
I remember the day you were born. Your parents were generous enough to allow your large extended family to wait right outside the operating room and then into the recovery area. We were taking turns holding & kissing you & your sister when you were less than an hour old. I leaned down to kiss your mother. I whispered "Thank you" in her ear. I think she said "you're welcome".
When you & your sister were named, I was awed at the meanings of your names. Your Grandfather Siegel pointed out that your names mean G-d was asked & G-d answered. I consider you and your sister to be miracles who bring great happiness to our family.
Samuel, you are your own young man. You know your mind. I hope this remains a life long trait. This makes you strong. (I do hope you realize this is a super power. Please use for good, not evil. Just kidding, wanted you to laugh in case I am being too sentimental.)You are a sweet, kind boy with a loving disposition. I hope that doesn't spoil your reputation with your friends! I won't reflect on your entire life to this point, I don't want to embarrass you any more than I have already. However, I do remember you helping your sister stay out of trouble with the water fountain we used to have, when you offered her food from your plate, your extreme excitement at getting the little electric car, the fun you had moving dirt & rocks around the yard with a just your size tractor, how you pretended to be your Grandfather & made snoring noises, how you could talk & talk about how to fix things around the house, how during your fireman phase I made you very happy at Chanukkah with a roll of yellow "Do not cross" tape. I remember more happy times when you and your sister helped me make challah or clean for Passover. You have loved cleaning things since you could walk. I don't know if you are still interested in cleaning, I'll ask your mother:) Earlier this year, we had to replace our refrigerator. I was happy to get a new one, but will miss the old one especially because there were cracks in the bottom of it where you used to stand to reach the top shelf. One of my most precious memories is Simchas Torah when your Grandfather Siegel was still with us & 3 generations of Siegels were called to the Torah at one time, you, your dad & your grandfather.
I was not prepared to cry like a baby today at shul, but you did such a good job & I was thinking of these good memories & my sadness that some very important people are no longer with us.
I know we'll have lots of fun times in the future. I can't wait to see what they are.
Love, Tante Pam
No comments:
Post a Comment