Because Today is Mother’s Day:
…and this post about mothers broke my heart, I’m going to throw in a little a about my mother, Dr. Carol Smokler, who will turn 60 this September.
My mother is trained as a clinical psychologist but has spent her sorta retirement doing philanthropic work, mostly in the Jewish community. Currently, she is the director the Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Relief Committee of the United Jewish Communities, the umbrella organization looking after Jewish communities throughout the United States.
My mother had occupied this post for several years now, a job she admits doesn’t see much action unless a giant disaster comes along. She was just about to step down this summer and let someone else have a go at it when Hurricane Katrina struck.
Over the last 9 months, my mother has met with President Bush as a representative of the Jewish community and spent much of the winter in Louisiana and Mississippi directing relief efforts. The days are long, the devastation like getting a daily emotional beating. Most people my mother’s age are getting ready to slow down or already have, filling their days with long lunches and funny stories about grandchildren and trips to the doctor. Not her.
The Jewish concept of social justice is called Tikkun Olam, which from the Hebrew means, “to heal the world.” It’s not a fancy way of saying “We look after our own” although that is part of it. It does not mean “To heal the Jewish world” or “the Israeli world” even “to help people who think the same way we do.” It means everybody, because being Jewish meanns an obligation to represent the best of humanity. The Bible calls that “a light unto all nations.” In these times, we call it suiting up and showing up. For everyone.
There are very few Jewish people in the Gulf Coast region destroyed by last summer’s hurricanes. It doesn’t matter. Being Jewish means everyone matters.
I learned that from my mother who spent much of the beginning of 2006 embodying it. Today on Mother’s Day, I just wanted to tell you all how proud I am of her.