Pauline Schulkind takes a break from her Passover baking.

A secular, Jew joins an

Orthodox seder and

discovers a connection

to her past.

Once piano teacher, later psychologist, my mother
wo years ago, my mother wanted to make it laughed, sang Yiddish songs, and whispered stories to
to one more Passover seder. Fearing cancer
the rabbi.
would claim her first, my sister, two broth-
Her last few weeks became a healing time for the
ers and I brought the holiday
whole family wrenched apart years earlier by
spirit to her.
divorce.
So every few days, we made my mother's
My mother didn't make it to Passover that
Los Angeles condo fill with the aromas of
year. But like Moses, she got a glimpse of the
her favorite recipes — chicken soup with
Promised Land — her family reunited.
flanken, brisket with potatoes, roasted
This year my editor asked what I wanted
chicken.
to cover for Passover. My answer surprised us
Until her last few days, we could wheel
both. I wanted to go to an Orthodox seder.
her into the dining room to join us. She
Rabbi Elimelech Silberberg of Sara
could only take a few sips of soup or a bisse-
Tugman Bais Chabad Torah Center in West
le (tiny bit of) brisket, but always expressed
Bloomfield had been one of many rabbis I
SHARON
her delight.
had interviewed for articles. I am a secular
LUCKERMAN Jew raised Conservative, and I appreciated
When the rabbi came, my mother remi-
Staff Writer
nisced about her Jewish heritage, about
his sharing his knowledge, which was espe-
growing up in the immigrant Jewish com-
cially helpful to my story on the Kabbalah.
munity on Chicago's West Side.
The rabbi graciously accepted my request to join his
It wasn't the religious aspects she talked about, but
first-night seder, and offered me two tapes he'd pre-
the life teeming in the streets: the people, their bitter-
pared on Passover.
sweet humor, the music, her good (albeit streetwise)
But I grew nervous when friends at work offered
parents, the friends she made for life.

T

4/5
2002

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