Other items in today’s column include:
*Mother’s Day video
*Mother’s Day rose
*Recommended reading
SAN DIEGO — My wife, the former Nancy Zeiden, having a last name that started with “Z,” typically found herself at the end of the line, or the person whose name was printed last or near last in any program. This being mother’s day, I thought I’d correct this alphabetical injustice for anyone who has found herself in the same situation. Therefore, we are running our Mother’s Day salute in reverse alphabetical order!
*Shelley Zimmerman, San Diego’s retired police chief, messaged: “I grew up in a kosher Jewish home in Cleveland (Beachwood), Ohio. I moved to San Diego after graduating from the Ohio State University and although my Mom, Elaine Zimmerman, may live 3,000 miles away she is always close in my heart. She is not just my mom, she is my best friend. Without a doubt, my Mom had the most dramatic influence on my life. I remember as a little girl, staying up late in the summer, during numerous Cleveland thunderstorms, with sleep nearly impossible, talking with my Mom about what she wanted for me, my sister and two brothers. My Mom wanted all of us to go out into the world and make it a better place. I believe this is why we all chose careers serving others. This was reinforced during our Friday night Shabbat dinners. One of my favorite memories was coming home from school on Fridays, walking in the door and immediately smelling my Mom’s chicken soup. I know everyone thinks their Mom’s chicken soup is the best, but my Mom’s really is the best. If you look up best chicken soup in the dictionary, I wouldn’t be surprised if my Mom’s picture is there. Every time my Mom came to visit me in San Diego she would ask me what I wanted to eat and without any hesitation I said her chicken soup. On one of her trips she made several pots for me that she froze to enjoy after she left. I call my Mom every Sunday and often during the week. During one of our Sunday calls she asked me what was the wrong, I guess she heard the sadness in my voice because the night before I had finished the last of her chicken soup. Although she has given me her recipe, (a pinch of this and a dash of that) I can’t quite get it the way she makes it. Let’s face it, mine will never be as good because Mom’s chicken soup is made with love. The love she has for her children. I had a few speaking engagements scheduled in Ohio next week and I was looking forward to spending time with Mom and of course enjoying her chicken soup but with COVID-19 this trip will not happen. Happy Mother’s Day Mom, I love you and when I come to Cleveland again, hopefully soon, how about we have some chicken soup for dinner, lunch and maybe even a snack?
*
Omer Zalmanowitz writes, “Often I wonder what makes a person ready for motherhood. My mom, Sara Zalmanowitz, still tells my brother and me that she waited until she felt ready to become a mother. I don’t have a definitive answer to that question, as her life’s trajectory has been complex. She grew up in a small moshav–cooperative community–made her way to Tel Aviv, and then took a detour in New York, attending Columbia University, joining in Women’s Liberation movement, only to return to Israel at wartime to work with the wounded at the burn unit in Sheba Medical Center. Wartime Israel, working with the wounded troops, accompanying soldiers on the long road to recovery had shaped her, and she has passed along this resolve to my brother and me. Everything else that came after that was in the service of others: families, victims of physical and emotional abuse , survivors of wars, wounded soldiers, all the while raising a family as a single mother, always making sure to put a roof over our heads, food on the table, and a smile on our faces. That’s mom. She would have it no other way, and once we learned the way my brother and I would have had it no other way too. My mom sacrificed a lot for others, without losing herself, and I am eternally grateful to her for that. I am honored to have the family that I have. Thanks, Ima, for leading the way, and for doing all you could for those who were in need, while never neglecting the duty of motherhood and parenthood, surely the toughest job in the world. Love and deepest appreciation, your son, Omer.”
*
Eric George Tauber writes: “In 2005, I was part of a panel of actors doing a Q&A with a high school drama class. The teacher asked us who our inspirations were. The other actors in the panel talked about famous actors they had watched in movies. I talked about my mom. Carol Tauber Groenewold was never in show business. The long hours, late nights and lack of security just wouldn’t have agreed with her. But when Mom would turn in for the night, she would come into the room and announce, “Her Loveliness is going to retire for the evening.” This was her way of making an exit, imbuing the mundane with a playful, dramatic flair. That’s where I get it from.
Growing up in the 70s, we were a typical middle-class family. My dad, John Andreas Tauber, was our bread-winner and Mom was a full-time homemaker. And as the President of our PTO, she was on a first-name basis with all of our teachers and principals. So we couldn’t get away with much. “School comes first” was our household mantra and may be why I’ve always felt at home in academia.
In the summer of 1981, we piled into our powder blue Buick LeSabre and went to see the Rockies, driving through long stretches of prairies to get there. Of course my brothers and I bickered and fussed with each other, bored out of our minds. Mom encouraged us to enjoy the scenery, but when you’ve seen one cow….
My father would not listen to rock-n-roll. His car; his tunes; end of discussion. But Mom had three 8-tracks of Broadway musicals. We listened to these so often that by the time we got back to Cincinnati, I had the scores to The Sound of Music, Man of La Mancha, and Fiddler on the Roof memorized. I can still sing them to this day.
Then, on November 24, 1981, my father’s heart attack left her a widow. Suddenly, she was a single mom of three sons. Petite in stature, each of us towered over her by the time we turned fourteen. Yet she proved big enough for the job.
At the age of forty, Mom went to secretarial school with classmates literally half her age. She said that it would take her longer to absorb the information and accomplish the same tasks. But with patience and tenacity, she did what she had to do. Working in a big downtown office really didn’t suit her. But when she got a job in a small real estate office, that’s where her light really shined. Obsessively organized, she kept that office running like a well-oiled machine and the agents just loved her for it.
When Mom went back to work, somebody had to do the laundry and make dinner. So I took over these domestic duties. My mother has exacting standards and acquiring these skills in adolescence made me far better equipped to live away from home than the vast majority of my peers. Our grandparents frequently reminded us, “Your mother did a good job with you kids.” To this day, I still enjoy cooking and I keep my whites white and my colors bright. My late wife, Jackie used to call me “The World’s Best Husband.”
Nine years after my father died, my mother remarried. She found a nice widower, Art Groenewold. In their retirement, they enjoyed traveling together until his health declined and he too left this world. Now, she travels with a friend and a group called “Women Traveling Together.” Two years ago, they flew to Peru and hiked up Machu Pichu. Not too shabby for a woman of seventy-seven.
But what I most admire about my mother is that she doesn’t dwell so much on what she’s lost. She has four beautiful grandchildren whom she dotes on and fusses over as grandmothers do. Being a widower myself, I still look to my mom for inspiration and support. Here’s to you, Mom. Happy Mothers Day!
*
Ann Spira relates one of her favorite memories of her mother, Patricia Spira: “My mother decided to take my sister and me to Europe when we were in our mid-20’s. One of the stops was in Rome and it was a glorious day so we decided to sit at an outdoor cafe on the Via Veneto to relax and enjoy a cup of coffee. There were many people walking down this famous street and we started noticing all these cute guys turning their heads and looking our way. It became clear very quickly that these young hip Romans were not looking at either my sister or me, rather flirting with my mother! She was beautiful then and still is today!”
*
Scott Silverman, remembering his mother, Marian Louise Silverman, z”l, widely known to San Diegans as ‘Maggie,” writes: “My Mom has always been one of the most powerful, loving people in my Life. She was a Mom, Grandma, Wife, Sister Aunt, etc. She was the one you called and called on when you needed guidance, support and just didn’t know who to turn to. She never said no. Unless she didn’t agree with you. LOL. She Loved my Dad [Sid Silverman] and made sure he was always taken care of before herself. She Gave and Gave and Gave. She was an Angel. I am confident she is on God’s Board of Director’s. I miss my Mom every day, So do my Wife and my kids. She was my hero. Happy Mother’s Day Mom.”
*
Sandi Masori posted on Facebook: “Happy happy Mother’s Day to one of the most incredible women in the world, my mom [Nancy Harrison]. She doesn’t do Facebook but maybe my dad will show this post to her (hint hint Donald H. Harrison). She is the glue that holds our family together, somehow able to remember all schedules and obligations for herself, my dad, my brother and me, and our kids- including my son the college student. She keeps us all on track and makes sure we always know where to buy at the best prices, whatever we’re trying to buy. She has a secret power to move figurative mountains and get stuff done. I would be lost without her, a sentiment with which I’m sure the rest of the family would heartily agree.”
*
Cantor Larry Kornit of Congregation B’nai Tikvah of Carlsbad relates that “My mother, Sherry Kornit, z”l,without question was probably the smartest, most principled person I have ever known. My mother was born in 1935, to very, shall we say, at the time “Left-Leaning parents,” who would give as Bar Mitzvah presents a copy of, “Our Lenin,” long before The Beatles. They were the rebellious type. The greatest memory I have of my mother was how dedicated she was to me, her only child, even when I know she did not want to be. It was Yom Kippur 1989. My wife Lauren and I had just started dating. My mother had terminal breast cancer, which her mother and three of her aunts died from, and which would take her life six months later. Between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, she had trouble breathing and was hospitalized. She spoke fluent Yiddish, but was not raised religious at all. She never missed an opportunity to hear me daven. She told the oncologist to hook her up with every bottle of IV she needed because she simply was going to leave the hospital to hear me daven Kol Nidre…end of story. We got the bags of IV, the wheelchair and she sat in Temple Israel in Valparaiso, Indiana, to hear me daven. She did not fast, and she had to have her rebellious pork chop at a local diner before services just to prove she was still her. The pain she must have gone through, and I don’t mean just having to hear Kol Nidre again. She was truly one of a kind. My mother in law, Doris Rubin, Devorah bat Nettie, now is in the hospital in Chicago with COVID-19. For all those who can only be with their parents in spirit today, know that we feel your pain, and we pray with you for renewed strength of mind, body, and spirit. Cain Yhi Ritzon.”
*
Irv Kass reflect that his mother, Florence Kass, z”l, “died six weeks ago in NY. She was just shy of 98 years old. She was pretty “with it” for most of her 97+ years but was slowing down in her final few months. We saw her often because we visited NY eight or nine times a year. What kept her going and brought her great joy was time with her five great grandchildren. We were blessed to have her in our lives for so long. Her memory is a blessing for us all. RIP Mom.”
*
Diane Benaroya, publisher of L’Chaim San Diego Magazine, says that her mother, Vivian Greenspan, z”l, ” was such a loving mother. She made tea parties for my sister and me. She encouraged my piano paying. She taught me to sew. We cooked together- blintzes being among her best. She babysat my children when I was in grad school. Viv was energetic and friendly. She suffered an untimely death at age 66- poisoned in hospital. Hers was one of the largest funerals in Town of Tonawanda, New York. She is missed every day by her family and friends.”
*
Perry Arenson informs us that his mother, Dorothy Rabinowitz Arenson, z”l “was born in 1924 in San Diego. She was the daughter of Max and Mollie Rabinowitz and married to Bernie Arenson. My mom attended Hoover High School around the same time that Ted Williams did. She went on to graduate from San Diego State College with a degree in business. My mom loved to cook, bake and entertain with dinner parties at our house. Whether it was Shabbos dinner, Seder, Thanksgiving, or a Saturday night, she was always prepared. One of my favorite recipes she passed along was her cinnamon sour cream coffee cake, which I still make today. Unfortunately, my mother was ill for many of her years, but we were fortunate to go on many summer vacations. One in particular that stands out was a trip to Banff and Lake Louise in 1967. I was ten years old and mom and I rode a chair lift in Jasper National Park. Our feet were dangling down and she was petrified! I was there to help comfort her as we made our way to the top of the mountain and then back down. She was always someone I could go to when I wanted to talk. I will always miss her understanding, comfort and love. Happy Mother’s Day, Mom!”
*
Mother’s Day Video
*Thanks to Jerri-Ann Jacobs for alerting us to the video above of Israeli comedian Yonatan Gruber attempting to teach his mother how to set up Zoom.
*
Mother’s Day rose
*The management of Seacrest Village Retirement Community — operated under Jewish community auspices — sent a rose to all its residents who are mothers. Jeanne Shenkman, a resident who corresponds regularly with San Diego Jewish World, sent us a photo of her rose.
*
Recommended reading
*Israel 21c offers a story with video link about how the Muslims of Israel celebrate the month of Ramadan in Jerusalem. (Our thanks to Michael Ordman of GoodNewsIsrael for passing this on.)
*
Donald H. Harrison is editor of San Diego Jewish World. He may be contacted via donald.harrison@sdjewishworld.com