Finally I went to a girl at the desk and told her I had misplaced my friend. She asked if we were Jewish and when I replied, she told me that she was at Friday Services...Friday evening being the Sabbath for Jewish People...and also Saturday till sunset. I was then escorted to a room that stunned me!
My eyes and mind took in a vision I have never before experienced. Wheel chairs lined up in a big room...a full congregation of non-walking Jewish men and women, totally focused on a rabbi and his wife conducting a meaningful Sabbath service
I missed part of the service, but when I entered the room, the rabbi's wife, was waving a small American flag and I could hear the congregation singing from song sheets...God Bless America...and I thought people usually stand when they hear this melody, treating it almost like it's our national anthem......then I realized, these were folks in wheel chairs being trained to stand again. And, Please God, let them!
I thought about Debbie Friedman who passed away just a few weeks ago at age 59 who wrote the Beautiful Song of Healing...mi shebeirach....songs from the heart! Debbie Friedma
Edie and Roy Dickes sang a few more songs, both in Hebrew and English, and then sang America the Beautiful and, of course, Hatikvah
Edie concluded the Service with the hauntingly, beautiful melody from Carousel....When You Walk Through a Storm Hold Your Head Up High...and Don't Be Afraid of the Dark which she talked thru while the music was softly playing in the background.
I was so touched by this that that it struck emotions I didn't know still existed within me.
. I just knew that this good Rabbi and his loving wife, performed a mitzvah...she did it in pure Hebrew and the Rabbi in English.
After this somber rendition, the rabbi's wife passed out delicious brownies that she had baked....and the rabbi gave us big chunks of cantaloupe. Then the nursing staff came in and wheeled the patients back to their respective rooms where they will rest and then await dinner.
I will never ever forget this extra special service where everyone was sitting in their wheelchairs really focused on the meaning of the Sabbath and praying for a recovery.
