Dear Dan and Joel,
I wanted to share a little story with you.
I work as a chaplain at a nursing home in Jerusalem. I have been speaking with one of the patients at the nursing home who made aliya from the former Soviet Union. Anna was an English teacher in Russia. She often talks about the conflicting feelings of deep appreciation and great disdain for the Russian government. I had been listening to a beautiful song by Safam, entitled, "We are leaving Mother Russia" on my way to work that morning. "Anna", I began, "What do you think 'Mother Russia' means?" "Well you see, Russia was like our mother. They provided everything for us. Education, food, culture, healthcare, everything." I asked Anna if I could share a song with her. As we listened to the song, Anna kept on nodding in agreement with the sentiments. She stopped the song a couple of times to explain what it was like to fight for the Czar and to appreciate the Russian soil. When the song was over she described a line from the song "when they come for us, we'll be gone." She said that many of the brilliant doctors, researchers and teachers were all Jewish. The Russians did not appreciate the Jewish people and when the moment would come that they would need these minds, we would be gone.
As a chaplain, I often search for various points of connection for my patients. For some patients it is through prayer, various touch, smells, life review, or meaningful relationships. For Anna, today, it was song and life reflection. I am grateful to Safam for so beautifully describing the emotions that Anna feels. I look forward to listening to the song again with Anna and learning more about her time in Russia and the feelings that she experienced.
Thank you!
--- Aliza Pilichowski