NOV 2, 2018 – Late Friday afternoons here on Miami Beach, my friend Marlene and I used to walk our dogs together, she saying, “Good Shabbos!” to every passerby she knew from her Temple up the street. Even though I’d made a dozen close Jewish friends by the time I met Marlene, I’d grown up in a small, largely-Catholic farming community where sundown Friday meant, “Football!” so this custom was new to me. Marlene explained, “In Hebrew, ‘Good Shabbos’ essentially means ‘Enjoy the Sabbath.’ From sundown today until sundown tomorrow, have a wonderful, restful time of connection with God, yourself and your family.”
Marlene and I lost touch when she moved abroad a decade ago, but all week — because of the 11 lives taken and families forever changed by the shooting at Tree of Life congregation — I have been thinking of her and our Friday “Good Shabbos” walks. Then, yesterday, another memorable walk came to mind: I had gone to meet Cardies Ann John and her sister Carla Schmitt in Charleston, SC, where they wanted to show me Mother Emanuel Church. Remember that it was there, in the oldest black congregation in the south, that nine innocent worshipers were shot and killed that summer of 2015.
I emailed Ann yesterday to ask if she could tell me why it seemed so important to them to visit Mother Emanuel that day, and Ann promptly replied, “At that beautiful old church, we wanted to show our respect for the lives taken there, and the lives of that entire congregation who chose — and continues to choose — to stand firm in their love and faith, and not be intimidated by fear and hate. You’ll recall that, while the sidewalk was no longer covered in flowers and special tributes, it did have folks who, like us, were there to silently offer condolences and hope for healing. That day was a beautiful exercise of remembrance for me.”
It will surely be hard for the families of Tree of Life to have a Good Shabbos this weekend, or maybe for a long, long time. If, like Ann and Carla, you’d like to lovingly show respect and express hope for their healing, we would be honored to give you a boxed set of 12 Tree of Life note cards with which to do so. By using promo code GoodShabbos at checkout, the note cards will be added FREE to your order, so you can write your own message of support to:
Tree of Life Congregation
5898 Wilkins Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA 15217
Just fyi, the birthday version of our Tree of Life card has been a Cardie-favorite for some time now and, like Ann, it offers us a much-needed perspective today: “Step back and see the sweet miracles of life,” it reads, “and our own beautiful part in them.” Good Shabbos.
~ jodee stevens
founder & chief creative
