To Sleep or not to sleep

Monday night around midnight I boarded a plane to New York for my speaking tour. I figured it would be an uneventful flight and I would be able to catch up on some much needed rest. I am one of those very fortunate people who can sleep on the plane, albeit not nearly as soundly as when I am lying in my bed at home. Sometimes I think that I have become conditioned to sleeping sitting up under almost any conditions by the Israeli busses (sorry egged, but Superbus drivers beat you out on erratic driving). Whatever the reason, I can usually count on sleeping through a good part of my flight between the US and Israel.

This flight, however, was not to allow me a full night’s sleep, as I found myself sitting next to very friendly and interesting woman who engaged me in conversation from the beginning. A sabra (native born Israeli) a little older than myself, Talia* had moved from Israel to New York about 30 years ago. Talia never told me why she had moved, but since she was very upfront about being “secular” and about how difficult things used to be in Israel, I inferred that it was to make a better life for herself materially. After 30 years, Talia admitted that she is culturally more American than Israeli and even though she admires Americans like myself who make aliyah for ideological reasons, ignoring the sacrifices required, she doesn’t think that she could go back to Israel.

As we were talking, Talia told me that even though she is secular, she realized early on that in America her children, raised in a secular environment, could easily lose all connection to their Jewishness, and she didn’t want that. So Talia sent her boys to a modern Orthodox Yeshiva to make sure they had a Jewish upbringing even though they were being raised in a secular home. Now, one of her sons, Talia explained, was dating a non-religious Jewish girl. Somehow, the girl was inspired to start lighting candles on Friday night through her relationship with Talia. This made Talia very proud, and it got me thinking…

…approximately 16 years ago I started lighting Friday night candles as a Christian who was completely disassociated from my Judaism except for a few tenuous threads from my family. That one act of lighting candles started me on a journey which eventually led me to become a fully Torah Observant Jewish woman. That first time I lit candles I felt a thin connection to my great-grandmother, the last observant member of her family. Now, every Friday night I light candles and feel a very strong connection, not only to my great-grandmother, but to all the Jewish women who proceeded her – simple women, great Rebbetzins and matriarchs alike.

As I sat there listening to Talia and thinking about what an amazing journey lighting candles has led me on and I wondered if Talia or her son’s girlfriend could be inspired by my journey. I asked her if she would like a copy of my book and she excitedly agreed. Talia began reading the book during the flight. It was a little awkward for me to sit there while she read about my life, but I watched as she turned the pages, fighting off sleep to get to the next section.

Talia didn’t finish the book by the time we landed, but she did say that she found it fascinating and felt it had a lot of important messages that people needed to hear. She said that she would share the book with other people as she thanked me for it. I wish that I could afford to give the book away for free – I can’t, but I thank Hashem for this one opportunity to touch the precious neshama (soul) of a fellow Jew.