Expressions of LOVE for the High Holidays

We thank our blessings for having been written in the Book of Lifethis past year. As 5785 comes upon us, are we approaching this High Holiday season with more concerns and worries than last year?

We baby boomers are facing that we have more years behind us than ahead of us.
A fact of life that is hard to reconcile, because as we age, we are aware of how cherished life is, that our health is everything, that our loved ones are more precious to us each day, and that the politics of our country have more consequences than ever.

A lot of anxieties and fears to deal with, regardless of one’s age, but as I speak with so many baby boomers, it’s difficult to put these apprehensions aside. So many folks share with me the issue of, “What kind of world are we leaving to our children and grandchildren?” Most of these doubts are subjects concerning the safety of our society, whether it’s gun control or outside terrorists, climate change, the economy and the political health of the United States.

Many of our parents and grandparents were immigrants who gave significant contributions to the positive impacts in this country after WWll that affected what the US is today. There is no doubt that immigrants contributed to economic innovation and growth to the manufacturing, agricultural and construction labor forces, to entrepreneurship that increased the Mama-Papa neighborhood businesses, to the scientific and engineering fields, to inventions, technology, medical and research disciplines. Many immigrants became active in civil rights, advocating for social justice and equality, many became educators and scholars who shared their intellectual world view in local schools and universities.

What I often feel is overlooked, and unfortunately a divisive issue these days, is the colorful and meaningful diversity the immigrants shared with usand howthe United States has flourished from their contributions.

The above-mentioned contributions are obvious, but can you imagine a country without the cultural diversity of music, art, food, language, dress, customs, holidays? We would be a society of Stepford Wives, bland, colorless, looking alike, talking alike, eating the same foods.

I grew up in East Los Angeles, a community of immigrants significantly Mexican, Asian, Korean, Black and Jewish. My family owned a business on the main shopping street where all these diverse families either owned businesses, worked as employees, shopped and gathered for holidays and special events. Some of my earliest memories are of Mariachi bands, the smells of Korean BarBQ, fortune cookies and chop sticks, the wonderful Black employees who entertained us with song and dance and the aroma of Cantor’s Deli where you could put your hand in a pickle barrel and pick your own pickle while the Chicago salamis hung from the ceiling!

What a smorgasbord of delights on all the diverse customs of our neighbors! I loved everything about it, but most importantly, I believe it’s where I learned exactly what diversity was and how valuable immigrants where to American society. We are enriched by learning and sharing our rituals, learning that my Bubbe’s kreplach was almost the same as our next-door neighbor’s Chinese dumpling, that the Day of the Dead celebrated by my Hispanic school mates was practically the same as Yom Kippur! We both pay homage to our deceased relatives! I learned that Jews and Asians both emphasize education, family bonds, have withstood historically racial discrimination and prejudice while upholding a strong work ethic, desire to succeed in business opportunities and take philanthropy and communal support very seriously. And both cultures share food as a sign of caring and comfort.

In fact, most ethnic cultures embrace that Food is Love.

So, as I anticipate the upcoming High Holidays, I ponder on how we can make the world a better place for our next generation and how we can participate in being proactive in the process. While I prepare my shopping list for our family’s Rosh Hashanah dinner, I will be thinking about the foods they like best as that’s my contribution to our continued tradition, because they know that Food is Love!  And I will share some of the stories I have of the diverse community I was privileged to grow up in while remembering those of years past who contributed to my rich education in diversity.

Some things can’t be taught in school so let’s expose our children and grandchildren to all who have value in making the world a better and more diverse society and then share Expressions of Love for a peaceful, healthy, safer and more diverse community.

Expressions of Love have many shapes and forms, tastes and smells! As we usher in Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, I pray that the diversity in our country finds ways to educate, enrich and enhance all peoples of the United States and we learn that:

We all have more similarities than differences!

“May you and your loved ones be inscribed in the 5785 Book of Life with a year filled with love, happiness, health, justice, peace and a smorgasbord of diverse people in your life!”