Beautiful Response to Pray and Mean It #16

[Cant...@aol.com]

Dear Pray & Mean It recipient:

Whenever I send an installment of Pray and Mean It, I hear from some
of the recipients of the list, who often share reactions and personal
thoughts. These are often excellent and would be worthy of sharing –
except that I feel that if you’re anything like me, you’ve got way too
much "incoming" to deal with – so I don’t want to burden list
recipients with more than an occasional installment. (Of course,
given that a year elapsed between the last two, I haven’t been in
danger of THAT!)

But I’m going to break that unwritten rule in this case.

I received a message from Lois Jacobs of Herndon, Virginia that spoke
to me so deeply – and that really underlines exactly my aspirations
for this project. . .

Pray and Mean It, after all, is about transforming the prayer
experience from the mere (rote) recitation of words into an act that
affects us in some way – and that may enhance our appreciation of and
contribution to the world around us. Our recitation of prayers today
replaces the sacrificial ritual of ancient days. We know that when
someone brought an animal for sacrifice they were REALLY giving up
something of value – on many levels -- economic, emotional and
physical, at the very least.

It is my goal that each paragraph of our tefillot has the capacity to
reach us deeply and profoundly – not every time we encounter it (that
would be overwhelming), but each in its time. And each time we daven,
SOMETHING should reach us significantly.

The possible power of these prayers comes through in Lois’ story:

[Lois wrote. . . ]
I want to tell you what this paragraph means to me.

My (then) 92-year old mother-in-law did not leave New Orleans before
Hurricane Katrina, but decided to stay in her apartment building with
lots of people she doesn't know.

My unmarried brother-in-law made the anguished decision to evacuate
the city after the levee broke, but was unable to reach his mother and
take her with him.

There she was, alone, under horrible circumstances — miserable heat,
no electricity, no connection to the world after the phone lines went
down.

We live in the Washington, D.C., area, and did not hear from her
between Tuesday, the day my brother-in-law left New Orleans, and
Saturday morning, when she called us from Kelly Air Field in San
Antonio. She recounted an extraordinary story of grit, determination
and individual courage, including wading through the lobby of her
apartment building in a large garbage bag, a ride in a canoe, to a
van, to a helicopter, to a long wait at the New Orleans airport
(without food or water), a flight on a naval airplane to San Antonio,
and a bus ride to Kelly Air Field, where she decided to wait until the
morning to telephone us because she didn't want to wake us! I was at
shul when she called, but, fortunately, my husband was home to get her
call.

She spent a few days with her niece in Houston (and reunited with her
son there), then came to Northern Virginia and spent four-and-a-half
months with us until she could return to her beloved hometown.

At minyan on Sunday morning, the day after she told us she was alive
and safe, I came to this paragraph and began sobbing. I really wanted
to sound a great shofar, because, by the grace of God, my mother-in-
law was freed from the perils of that terrible storm.

We put up a plaque on our shul's tree of life that quoted this phrase
in honor of her rescue from Katrina.

Thanks for letting me share.

Shabbat Shalom,
Lois Jacobs
Congregation Beth Emeth
Herndon, VA
[end of Lois' e-mail to me]

I rushed my Pray and Mean It out on Friday afternoon – shortly before
5 p.m. We have our Friday services at 5:30 p.m. Lois’ response came
at 5:15 p.m.!

I shared it with my congregation in the context of teaching about the
value of sacrifice – connecting it to this past Shabbat’s Torah
portion, Vayikra.

As I shared it with my congregants, I too sobbed.

Thank you, Lois, for an unforgettable story of the power of prayer in
our lives. And thanks to all of you for listening and responding.

Jack Chomsky

Cantor Jack Chomsky
Congregation Tifereth Israel
1354 E Broad St
Columbus, Ohio 43205
614-253-8523
Cant...@aol.com
www.tiferethisrael.org