I’m fine. Mercedes and I had quite a week, but she is mending well and I am fine. My medical issue has been resolved and I am healing very well and free of pain. In fact, I’m more than fine. I am overwhelmed by the support we received from this community when Mercedes put out the call for help.
I remember that when I was a young child my parents had a very active social life. They had dinners with friends and attended theater with friends. In addition to running a chicken ranch and egg distribution business with no days off, they both volunteered for charities and my father even served on a synagogue board. Then when I was nine years old my mother began her five year battle with cancer that she would lose. All the friends suddenly disappeared with very few exceptions. I witnessed that when my parents needed their friends the most they were nowhere to be seen. I carried this lesson with me for nearly fifty-six years. I believed that people cannot be depended on when times are challenging – until this week.
One phone call and our TBH community rallied to help us in ways that I never imagined would happen for me. I have always been driven to support others the best I could. I never wanted to be like the friends that abandoned my parents, but I never expected that I could count on others to do the same. I am a theater artist and a teacher. Communication is at the core of what I do, but I cannot find words strong enough to express my gratitude. Mercedes and I feel blessed and very lucky to be part of this community.
In two weeks, on Iyar 15 (April 27), I will be observing the fifty-first anniversary of my mother’s death, but this yahrzeit will be different from the previous fifty. This time when my mother’s name is read tonight, I’ll know that I am part of a community that really cares.
From the President – April 16, 2021
April 15, 2021 by tbhrich • president
I’m fine. Mercedes and I had quite a week, but she is mending well and I am fine. My medical issue has been resolved and I am healing very well and free of pain. In fact, I’m more than fine. I am overwhelmed by the support we received from this community when Mercedes put out the call for help.
I remember that when I was a young child my parents had a very active social life. They had dinners with friends and attended theater with friends. In addition to running a chicken ranch and egg distribution business with no days off, they both volunteered for charities and my father even served on a synagogue board. Then when I was nine years old my mother began her five year battle with cancer that she would lose. All the friends suddenly disappeared with very few exceptions. I witnessed that when my parents needed their friends the most they were nowhere to be seen. I carried this lesson with me for nearly fifty-six years. I believed that people cannot be depended on when times are challenging – until this week.
One phone call and our TBH community rallied to help us in ways that I never imagined would happen for me. I have always been driven to support others the best I could. I never wanted to be like the friends that abandoned my parents, but I never expected that I could count on others to do the same. I am a theater artist and a teacher. Communication is at the core of what I do, but I cannot find words strong enough to express my gratitude. Mercedes and I feel blessed and very lucky to be part of this community.
In two weeks, on Iyar 15 (April 27), I will be observing the fifty-first anniversary of my mother’s death, but this yahrzeit will be different from the previous fifty. This time when my mother’s name is read tonight, I’ll know that I am part of a community that really cares.
Thank you.
If I am not for myself, who will be for me?
If I am not for others, what am I?
And if not now, when? -Rabbi Hillel
~ Michael R Cohen, President, Temple Beth Hillel