You have a story. It is your legacy. For some, your journey may seem ordinary and mundane while for others, your journey may seem filled with ups and downs, with more than uncommon experiences. Whatever your life has been, it is YOURS, UNIQUE, PERSONAL and shared with no other human on the planet. THAT makes it SPECIAL.
Your story is wanted: What experiences have made you who you are today and more specifically, what Jewish experiences have contributed to your journey to be, or not, the Jew you are today? And what details, information and stories do you want to leave your children and grandchildren? What is your legacy to them?
How did your hometown, grandparents, parents, family, schools, peers, activities, close friends or “the others” shape your life as a Jewish adult?
I have a personal passion for legacy. I trace it back to my grandparents, specifically, to my maternal Grandmother, Bubbe, and her life from Russia, to Ellis Island, back on a boat to Paris, then several years later to Chicago, finally to settle in Los Angeles. She lost five children in her lifetime and in her late 50’s, she had to raise my two brothers and me after our parents were killed in a car accident. How she survived her journey with spirit, hope, laughter and the continued giving of love is a miracle to me. She shared her stories with all of us and that became her legacy, a treasure chest filled with wisdom that was her gift to all of us kids who listened, ate her food and laughed at her jokes. She came from an exclusive generation: a generation that has been chronicled, written about, movies made, beloved family photos held dear with home videos and audios in our personal archives.
Now it is OUR turn as JEWISH AMERICAN BABY BOOMERS to tell our story and have it recorded and accounted for with OUR contributions adding to the fabric of the Jewish American Baby Boomer story.
Baby Boomers have been the most educated, healthiest, most fit, most successful, most innovative, the generation that would not take “no!” for an answer, responsible for dialogue on social change and equal rights movements, changes in mainstream music, creating the captive audience/advertising/screen time and the largest generation to contribute the biggest changes in America history. How did we do that?
I’m inviting you to tell your story. Write it out. Do a video. Record it. But tell it. Let us know how your life is woven into the Jewish American Baby Boomer Legacy.
This is not a judgment on what kind of Jew you are. Your story may be how your experiences turned you off to Judaism, left you with no desire or need for religion, how you found your spirituality in another way, or not, just the opposite. Did your grandparents/parents guilt you into religious activities? Did being forced to attend synagogue/religious school turn you away or encourage you to want to be part of your Jewish community? Did you marry someone of another religion and let your faith go by the wayside or did you want more Judaism? As a teen, did hanging out with your Jewish friends create bonds and fun times you still hold dear? Did you participate in BBG/AZA? Were holiday gatherings fun or not?
Please let these questions trigger memories and thoughts that bring recollections to today that will help you decide why you are, or not, involved in Judaism as a senior adult. And know that one does not have to participate in Jewish activities to behold your Jewish heritage. We are all Jews in very different ways that are expressed and meaningful in a variety of actions and thoughts.
I invite you to email me at jewishbabyboomer@gmail.com to send your completed Legacy Story or for further information to receive more specific questions that can generate more memories for thought. Please do not respond to Jewish Sacred Aging for this information or to send your final contribution.
Feel free to comment or ask questions about this project via jewishbabyboomer@gmail.com.
Our Jewish religion, culture and traditions have contributed a strong sense of our heritage to the United States that has helped to shape this country to the great place our ancestors wanted us to be. Let’s leave that legacy and tell our stories!
THANK YOU in advance for your time and story.
Your loved ones will be grateful!
Shalom,
As a Baby Boomer Bubbe who still feels 18 but has four grand kids to prove this is the 21 Century, Sandra writes to leave a legacy for the next generations. Her belief that these precious kids need to know their cultural and family’s past in order for them to live their future is all the muse she needs!
She has a Master’s Degree in Psychology and Cross Cultural studies, has written a family history, personal memoir and is completing her first novel.
Her grandmother’s journey to America and life is her source for her deep belief and love for Judaism.
Think about the difference between leaving a legacy and LIVING a legacy. How we age and die is both being a role model and can allow us to live more fully all the way to the end. Thank you, Sandy, for promoting this effort.
I recommend The Conversation Project (theconversationproject.org)
Will you eventually publish the stories that you do receive?