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March 8, 2002/Adar 24, 5762, Vol. 54, No. 25
Words on my mind
VICKI CABOT
Contributing Editor
Ah, for instant replay. Naomi Ragen's words were so compelling, that even those of us who reflexively reach for pen or pencil when someone begins to articulate a succession of carefully chosen sentences sat motionless in our seats, our fingers still.
It was a time to be "in the moment," a participant rather than an observer, to quiet writer's impulse and simply let her words wash over us.
Ragen, an American-born Israeli novelist, addressed the hundreds of women gathered for the annual Jewish Federation Women's Department Challenges luncheon on Feb. 28.
Her speech turned on an artful telling of her life story - an impoverished Brooklyn childhood, brightened by the fortuitous opportunity to attend an Orthodox day school; making aliyah to Israel in the early 1970s and establishing a career as a writer. In glowing words she described the revelation that she, the daughter of a poor widowed mother of three, was in reality a bearer of the tradition of kings and prophets, sages and seers.
That realization continues to animate and enrich her life.
Deciding to go to Israel was the best thing she ever did, she confided. The fact that she and her husband arrived with next to nothing - not even enough funds for the fare home - assured they would stay. And they did, working to build their own lives as they worked to build the nation state.
Yet all was not sweetness and light in the land of milk and honey, Ragen reminded her listeners, as she recounted memories of the Yom Kippur War, the Gulf War, global anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism, and the ongoing terror that is the reality of life in Israel today.
Her words were strong, her angst palpable, her ability to evoke emotion from her listeners stunning.
Who could not be moved as she spoke of ironing khaki uniforms for her son and her husband as they readied to go off to military service? Who could not respond to her description of the Israel Defense Forces as family - as she ticked off every friend, neighbor and co-worker who had a son, a father, a nephew or a cousin in the army? Who could not react as she spoke of the impact of the spate of suicide bombings on both the woman who sits to her left in shul, and the woman who sits on her right?
Ragen left Phoenix late Thursday afternoon for New York and then on to Israel to arrive in time for Shabbat. And so, it was her face that flashed before my eyes, when I learned of yet another horrifying attack in Israel, late Saturday afternoon in the Orthodox Beit Israel section of Jerusalem as families were walking home from prayers concluding the Sabbath. Just 12 hours later, a sniper opened fire at a West Bank checkpoint, killing 10 soldiers. Another incident that day took one more life and left four wounded. The next day, five Israelis were killed.
Ragen's words replayed in my head - but not those that dealt with terror and horror, death and despair. The echoes were of peace and joy, sweetness and beauty.
Before Ragen came to Phoenix, I asked her what she hoped to share with her audience here. "I'm going to talk about being a Jew and living with terror and the burdens and joys of our amazing heritage," she replied.
And she did.
Contact the writer at vicki_cabot@jewishaz.com.
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