Valentine’s Day is most definitely not a Jewish holiday. But LOVE is a most Jewish feeling. There’s even a great Yiddish saying, "Love is good. But with noodles, it’s even better.” And the idea of something, or someone being “beshert” or meant to be, is decidedly Jewish as well.
Meet long-time Temple Emanuel member, Gloria Boraz and her new beau, Stanley Goldblatt. You may have read about their remarkable love story in last week’s Beverly Hills Weekly, but in case you missed it…
Gloria and Stan, both octogenarian widows, recently met each other the old fashioned way… via Facebook. At the urging of one of her grandsons, Gloria only recently signed up for Facebook. Within a few days of joining, Stan sent a friend request to Gloria after recognizing her name as someone he had dated more than 60 years ago when they were both in college at the University of Washington in St. Louis. After some basic Facebook exchanges, which included photos of the two of them talking at a a college formal, the two decided to meet in person, on neutral ground in Las Vegas. (Gloria, a longtime grade-school teacher, lives here in BH, and Stan splits his time between Chicago, and Key West.)
According to Gloria, “My family thought I was crazy for going off to Vegas to meet a man I hadn’t seen in more than 60 years. But we were there for 3 days and we fell in love.”
Those three days have changed their lives forever. Now, they want to be together for the rest of their lives. Stan and Gloria recently approached me after a Friday night service to share their remarkable story and to ask if I’d oversee a ritual ceremony where they could both thank God for having found each other. It was extremely important to them that they be able to frame their deep connection to each other as well as to our tradition, and most importantly, to God. This would not be a wedding. No ketubah, no rings, no huppah, no vows….just a few family members who would share personal blessings with the lovebirds and smiles all around.
Why didn’t their relationship work out all those years ago? We’ll never know. He was 21, and she was 19. And the answer to that question isn’t really what’s important. Their lives needed to take the twists and turns that they did. They needed to meet their spouses, have children and grandchildren. They needed to love fully and bring so much more love and life into the world. Their lives needed to unfold individually….BUT, thank goodness for social media and open heartedness, and being willing to take a chance on something new!
This past Sunday we gathered as a small group in the Chapel. With children and grandchildren present, we smiled, laughed and shed a few tears, as these two unlikely lovers shared their gratitude, their joy, and most importantly, their LOVE.
Are you on Facebook? Twitter? What are you waiting for?
Cantor Yonah Kliger
Cantoryonah/twitter.com
Comments