My friend Jessica's mother passed away last month at the age of 88. Jessica invited me to a celebration of her memory at the end of the 30 day mourning period. The gathering took place in her mother's apartment where Jessica will be moving with her 5 year old son at the end of this month. Relatives and friends shared their memories (in Spanish) of this very active and generous woman who came to Israel from Argentina. One of her mother's friends told me that they liked to talk on the phone every night and that sometimes at midnight Rosa would say, "I haven't eaten dinner yet!" Jessica showed a plaque her mother received from Tel Aviv University for her activities on behalf of the Spanish-speaking Jewish community. Jessica sang a beautiful song in Spanish and a friend played guitar and sang with the group joining in Spanish and Hebrew. For the refreshments, Jessica served tea and coffee, sweets, and cheese with membrillo (quince paste, and also another fruit paste that is typically Argentinian) on her mother's wedding china. Although my knowledge of Spanish and Hebrew is somewhat limited, I felt very welcomed into this warm and gracious group.
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