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