A TRUE SISTER

Dear Zlata,

 

We shared so many details in our life

Beyond the fact that two of your sisters are my sisters-in law,

And our family roots are intertwined for generations already,

I truly feel attached to you.

Our childhood in Crown Heights,

Centred around and inspired by the Rebbe,

Is a bond stronger than the craziest of glues!

We ate the same kind of foods,

We played the same games,

Loved Machanayim and Kugeleach,

Laughed at the same jokes,

True, you did more of the joking and I more of the laughing-

But it was a team.

We davened together in 770,

Pushed for the best spot at farbrengens,

Played in the same school yards,

Shopped in the same stores,

We babbled for long hours on the benches of Eastern Parkway, 

As we waited for our fathers to come home from shul.  

Drove to the Catskills in the summer,

Shared similar ideals,

Blossomed from the Rebbe's brochos.

Our brothers learned in the same Yeshivos,

Our mothers had twins at the same time,

Our fathers were best of friends,

We sang niggunim together for hours on end at Kumztizen with Chaya,

Drank every word the Rebbe's Shluchim said to us at assemblies,

We sang the entire davening out loud in honor of every Rosh Chodesh in our dear Bais Rivkah,

Our voices echoed joyfully in the halls of Church or Snyder Avenues,

Whether it was color war or just any old week day,

 

In the name of all of us kids growing up in the Crown Height of the 60's and 70's

You are our sister-

Though for the past 30 years, we are geographically dispersed in four corners of the globe,

In the frontline to bring Moshiach,

We continue to share our source of energy by returning to 770 at every possible occasion.

We ask Hashem to bring light into this year 5770.

Having you torn away from us is too much to cope with in our hectic lives.

He must help your Mother zol zein gezunt,

Your Twin sister Miré tlt

Soré, Channé, Mendel, Fitché and Lipé

And of course your husband and teiere kinderlech,

Aibershter, hob rachmones, and do what is needed to bring back the sound of joyful laughter to this wonderful group of people that is your family.

 

Esther Gourevitch – Brunoy, France