Kippah

" 'Do you have a kippah?' That's what this visitor asked for."
One of us pointed to our head.
"Yes... yes, you know kippah is Hebrew for a head covering for men."
My class and I was at the Dallas Holocaust Museum for an on-site learning experience.
Or a field trip for college students.

"Does anyone know why traditionally Jewish men wear a kippah?" the docent continued.
"It's a sign of respect and fear for God, acknowledging that God is above us," one of my classmates offered.
"Right before your group walked in, this man asked for this. This was the first time in all these years I heard someone asking for a kippah. I think he recognizes some thing of what is here, some thing of why are here. We are in the realm of sacredness," she continued.

None of us spoke much on our way back.
We had been full of comments and observations on our first field trip to the synagogue.
We knew we didn't have a kippah to wear.
But we knew silence was probably the only way we can honor 11 million people killed by another kind of silence.

Is this your kind of silence?

The fruit of silence is prayer.
The fruit of prayer is love.
The fruit of love is service.
The fruit of service is peace.

Mother Teresa of Calcutta

Photo credit: homegrownjudaica.com

Comments

  1. Best KippahMay 10, 2012 at 4:25 PM

    Such an inspiring article! I had so much delight upon reading this. Keep this up!

    ReplyDelete
  2. UnknownAugust 24, 2012 at 4:52 PM

    I didn't realize that this particular museum wasn't JUST a museum, but it's also a memorial as you reminded me.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Life with Ashes

Image
It was time to move. Goodbye to Allen Parkway and hello to Florin Wood. Our family was moving from Houston to Sacramento. This was over 20 years ago and the day comes back with ashes. And a smell. My dad had piled all our old clothes, furniture, and knick knacks into a huge heap in front of our yard. He poured gasoline generously and lighted it with a smile. My mom looked on regretfully. All seven of us kids were delighted with the dancing flames. The neighbors didn't care. We lived in what they called the ghetto part of the world and since we were not shooting at anyone, we were okay. "We're starting a new life," my dad reassured mom as our van entered the highway. "No need to hang on the old stuff." "It was pretty dinky, wasn't it?" my mom replied hesitantly. Our years in Houston were our first years living in the United States, far away from the land of our origin, Vietnam. What dad burnt was the few possessions we accumulated fro
Read more

Teddy Bear

Image
"Dear God, I love you so much, I want to give you everything. You can have my Mom, my Dad, my sister, my teddy bear. No, I take it back. You can have everyone, but I want to keep my teddy bear." Love, Little Boy. Fr. Roch hardly lost a beat in his lecture of sin as he told his joke. Sin is putting ourselves above God. Not willing to let go. In actuality, God never wants everything. He just wants the teddy bear. What we think is necessary. Photo source: www.funkyfriendsfactory.com
Read more

Bingo!

Image
Sisters at Salerno's Artichoke Lucia.  Baked with Italian cheeses and breadcrumbs. Grilled fillet salmon on a bed of blanched spinach and mushrooms, topped with pine nuts. 8oz. marinated and charbroiled steak topped with sauteed mushrooms; served over linguine. Saturday night at Salerno's. It was time to "open community." Every year we choose a venue to celebrate the beginning of our time together as a religious community.  This year the venue chose us. "Bingo!" An almost audible gasp escaped from the surrounding tables. Sr. Leslie Thu at our table had won another bingo game. A Knight of Columbus member handed her a sealed envelope. Her eyebrows arched in delight. It was a $50 Walmart gift card. We cleared our cards and another round started. It was the Knights of Columbus Sisters Appreciation Luncheon. It was on a early Sunday afternoon. They had sent the invitation two months ago. Sr. Jacinta Ngân had "highly encouraged"
Read more