September 2, 2016 – Sarasota, FL

The beauty of spontaneity is that you do not know where it will lead. When we invite different families for Shabbat to our table, Steve and I are typically unaware if the variety of guests know each other or not. This was the case this past Shabbat. We have known the Hochberg’s for 22 years. We have been to all four bar- mitzvahs plus one wedding. They have been to our family celebrations as well. The Weinstein’s have more recently come into our lives, but we all belong to the same temple. In both cases, our children are young adults finishing up school, attending college, or employed. We have all attended high holiday services and Shabbat services, so we had no idea the two couples did not formally know each other. Once the mix and mingle began and humus and red peppers were served along with the chips and mango salsa, the connections became more evident.

Eileen Hochberg’s oldest son, Jack, went to kindergarten with Sarah’s daughter, Liana, at Temple Emanu-El. Eileen explained to Sarah, “Maybe there were 6 or 8 kids total in that class. I think only 3 were in kindergarten, the rest were in first. I am also quite sure I have some pictures here of your daughter, Liana, at Dscovery Zone.”Funny the things you remember when prompted.

The Shabbat dinner table heated up with escapades of funny family stories that are uproarious. For example, the memory of one of our St.Thomas trips with my brother-in-law, Mitch and former wife, Paula and their daughter, Lauren always gets a solid laugh from listeners. We call “No table for us!” (That’s another blog!) Then there are the Yom Kippur cruise story and broken pinky story. Let’s just say I show up for Temple now. While general conversation also ensued, Eileen, who is my mom’s physical therapist at the Brookdale residence, and I were engaged in a side conversation about geriatric health care. While discussions and laughter filled out Shabbat dinner table, we also enjoyed a delicious meal with all the regular Shabbat props, the challah, kiddush cup, and candles. This was also my cousins last Shabbat with us before they left to take their son, Carson, back to college. I learned many things from this Shabbat dinner…Ed Weinstein and I share the same birthdate, Sarah Weinstein loved sharing flowers with me, Steve, my husband, continued to impress us all with his menu of delectable dining dishes, Noah Hochberg agrees that Subarus are the best cars, my cousins, Steve and Noreen Berger, will miss leading the Shabbat blessings in the correct tune, and as always, I just adores people wanting to share Shabbat with us.

Good Shabbat to you and yours!