By Phyllis J. Lubin
This was a very special yom tov.
How can I say that? All holidays are special–that’s what makes them holidays, after all. But there were extra-special ingredients this holiday that made it truly amazing.
When we moved to Cedarhurst (over 20 years ago) we decided to purchase our own sukkah. The sukkah “evolved” over the years (another word for aged–we had even incorporated an older sukkah from my in-laws around 13 years ago from the early 1970s), and this year we decided to purchase a new sukkah. It was if we were beginning again.
I am always hesitant to change things–especially our sukkah which had become part of our family over the years: I could still see the stain on the canvas where I tried to clean the kids’ Little Tikes table that we had set up in the sukkah for when some of our kids were too little to reach the table . . . I can still envision the nights the girls would sleep in the sukkah and I would check on them in the middle of the night to make sure they were all right . . . I remember the birthday parties we would have in that sukkah . . . I can visualize the year we were a stop on the Chabad sukkah hop and Yussie was so proud.
But a sukkah is just a structure and the memories of our celebrations in it will never be gone even if the actual walls change.
With this sukkah, there was much angst until all the pieces were finally delivered (the last poles arrived 1:30 a.m. the Friday right before yom tov) and the structure was put together (thanks to Leib and all his hard work with some assistance from the kids and, of course, me) and the decorations were completed. But we were fortunate to gather the entire family under the one “roof” for the first days.
We haven’t had all the children in one place for a while. Rochel even made the trip in from SUNY Albany to join us as we inaugurated our new albeit temporary home for the new year.
My grandson celebrated his first birthday on the first day of Rosh Hashanah and was with us this year as we enjoyed the first days of Sukkot–the smile on his face, and the faces of all my children, parents, in-laws, and husband as we savored the yom tov meals in our new sukkah will be imprinted in my memory!
The culmination of our holiday week came yesterday as we celebrated our son Yosef Binyamin’s favorite day of the year: Simchat Torah! Yussie loves the singing, the eating, and of course being able to rejoice with the Torah. After much worry over a possible impending hurricane, we were thankfully passed over this round and had picture-perfect weather. Monday night found some of the Lubin crew enjoying the excitement of Chabad on Simchat Torah.
The highlight of Simchat Torah is the actual reading of the Torah. We have the tradition that all men over bar mitzvah receive an aliyah to the Torah on the morning of Simchat Torah. The men break off into many mini-minyans around a Torah so that everyone can get their special moment. This year we joined my folks at the Young Israel of Woodmere on Tuesday morning. I was fortunate to witness Yosef receive his aliyah and he spoke the words of the aliyah perfectly! Soon after, Leib received his aliyah.
After everyone received an aliyah, the congregation united and a very special event took place: the aliyah of the Chassan Bereishis, the bridegroom of Genesis–the beginning of the Five Books.
This year, the Young Israel of Woodmere chose an extremely special person for Chassan Bereishis–none other than my dad, Donald Davidson (or, as he is called by some, “the Professor”). My dad was aptly chosen to receive the aliyah to begin the Torah again. His strength to pick himself up and begin again after every physical challenge that comes his way is remarkable! My father has been a mainstay of the Young Israel of Woodmere for over 45 years, and G‑d willing will be there for many more years to come.
I must give a special thanks to my dad’s team at the Young Israel–these are the men who have assisted him in shul over these past number of years as he became more physically challenged. I would prefer not to mention their names for fear of missing some, but all the men in his section care for my father in a very special way each and every Shabbos.
I was so happy to be able to share in this very special simcha this year. As my dad recited his aliyah blessings in a strong, loud voice, I saw the tears in my mom’s eyes, knowing that it took my dad a great deal of strength just to climb the steps to the bima to receive his honor. You did it, Dad, and may the strength of the Torah give you and all of us many years of continued celebrations! v
Phyllis Joy Lubin is an attorney with Maidenbaum & Sternberg, LLP, who resides in Cedarhurst with her husband, Leonard. They have six children–Naftali, Shoshana, Rivka, Rochel, Yosef, and Lea–and a daughter-in-law, Nina. The author welcomes your questions and comments at MothersMusings@gmail.com.
