This is a warning! If you befriend me, there is a high statistical chance that you will move out of town in the near future. Ever since my childhood everyone I have been close to has moved away. 

Connecting with people becomes more difficult as you get older. You are not a blank slate to be written on with shared experience. You have to explain your past to anyone you might hope to form a friendship with. 

As difficult as it was to lose connection with individuals along the way, I also experienced the loss of an entire community when I had to give up riding horses after 40 years. You lose proximity to people you saw on a daily basis, not to mention the ups and downs of riding and showing. 

I drifted away from the equestrian world slowly. For a while I visited at horse shows and barns of old friends, but I soon began to feel like an outsider, losing connection. 

But then something wonderful happened, albeit out of a tragedy! After the Tree of Life Synagogue massacre Jews were called on to Show Up For Shabbat and I did! 

I was a little nervous about walking into a room where I didn’t know anyone, but the sounds and sights of the service were so familiar and comforting to me that I soon began to feel connected! 

And the people!! All so welcoming! I truly felt connected! And more so once I started participating in the various study groups, Hebrew class, Torah Study, Java and Jews. So many connections to be made that I am sure will not be broken. 

But more than connecting with people, important as that is, I’ve connected with Judaism in a way I never thought I could. I’ve learned so much and developed a deep connection with Torah and the rituals of connecting to Torah.  

Myrna Rosenbaum