The power point presentation was so well received by over 120 people - a cross-section of Sedona - that I was exremely moved!  I felt like I was speaking from my heart about the most important factors in forming my appreciation for life.  I showed photos from my book "From Miracle to Miracle: A Story of Survival, about my mother's dramatic stories of survival from one seeming dead-end to yet another open door.  Then I showed recent photos of our trip to Poland this past June, when my mother and I spoke to various atudiences, young and old, Jewish and Catholic, about her experiences during the war, and her message to the next generation.  She spoke about how important it is to develop one's talents and skills because literally everything else of a material nature can be taken away from you at a moment's notice.  We attended a re-emerging Reform synagogue in Warsaw, visited the newly opened Museum of Jewish History in Poland, had a very moving reunion with the children of the Catholic Polish piano teacher who saved my mother's life, and so many more adventures and interactions.  Rather than focus on the horrors and losses my mother emphasized resilience, hope, the healing power of art, and the preciousness of life.  She is now the matriarch of a new family line of children, spouses, and grandchildren, like a new shoot from a nearly cut-down tree. I feel that this chapter is now complete. Neither she nor I feel the need to speak about the past anymore but rather to look to the future.  I do not know what new adventures await me, but I feel that I am on the threshold of a new and expansive journey as I continue to serve as rabbi of my community.

Alicia giving presentation at Warsaw synagogue "Bejt Warszawa"

 

 

Nika Fleissig putting stone on Warsaw Ghetto monument

Never Lose Hope; Story of Survival PRESENTATION JULY 28, 2013

 

Rabbi Alicia Magal, spiritual leader of the Jewish Community of Sedona and the Verde Valley, and author of “From Miracle to Miracle: A Story of Survival" feels very lucky for the gift of life. Her mother, Nika Kohn Fleissig, was the sole Holocaust survivor of her family. This story will come to life in an interactive presentation by Rabbi Magal on

Sunday July 28 at 4 p.m.at the synagogue, 100 Meadowlark in Sedona.

Explore this bitter time in history--you may never take life for granted again.

 

The Rabbi's mother has an amazing story to tell: her large family was decimated during the Holocaust. Nika, a Sedona winter resident, survived the Second World War as a young Jewish woman in Poland and Germany and began a new life in America in 1946.  Nika, together with her daughter, Rabbi Magal, recently returned to Krakow and Warsaw in Poland, not as tourists, but to make presentations based on their book which had just been translated into Polish. This past week, Nika was honored at the 10th annual Mary Magdalene Celebration Sedona with a presentation of their Soul Sister Courage Award.

 

All are invited to come for this stirring story. The presentation will also provide historical information about the Nazi occupation of Poland, the Warsaw Uprising of 1944, and liberation in 1945 which set the backdrop for Nika’s miraculous survival and message of hope, with discussion to follow.  Admission is free. You will be able to purchase a copy of the English version of “From Miracle to Miracle” during a book signing by the Rabbi. For more information, call 928 204-1286.

 

Rabbi Alicia Magalwww.jcsvv.org