A Unique Conference Call
A Unique Conference Call The joy of growing up in a large family. by Rabbi Zushe Greenberg
Just a while ago, I took part in a telephone conference call involving 29 people. It was not a business venture, but a personal matter. Lines from the Ukraine, France, Alaska, Texas, New York and Solon, Ohio, buzzed to Israel to wish my mother a happy 60th birthday. What made this call so special was that it symbolized the profound blessings of a large family. All of the callers were my mother's children, - sons and daughters plus sons & daughters-in-law. Everyone had the opportunity to extend words of good wishes. After this 25 minute congratulatory roll call, one of my sisters asked, " What's the secret of your success ? How did you manage to not only survive raising such a large family, (Blee Ayin Harah) but also raise such stable, happy, accomplished and self confident kids like us !? " My mother chuckled at her "self confidence", and in her non assuming and practical manner, she insisted that it was no great feat. " You just take one day at a time," she stated, " and one child at a time, then do what needs to be done. !" We all demanded a better explanation. " How was it that you didn't worry about finances, space, and simply providing the basic needs like clothing and food ?" another brother asked. At this point my father entered the conversation " You're forgetting the full picture." he said, sharing a synopsis of his life story. When he was 12 years old, he was fleeing from Hitler in Romania, and ended up in Communist Russia. There he suffered constant persecution for his religious beliefs, while at the same time was denied exit visas. At age 19 he finally tried to cross the border to Poland. He was double-crossed as his "guide" delivered him straight to the Russian Police. He was sentenced to 25 years hard labor in the Siberian Prison Camps. When Stalin mercifully died seven years later, my father, and all the political prisoners were set free. He never dreamed that he would survive these events, but he did. He also never dreamed that he would find a Jewish