Today, my family marks four years since the passing of my sister Sari Shalmon, A’H. As I stood in shul this morning, preparing to say kaddish in her memory, I wondered what she would make of the world that has evolved for us since she left us, far before her time.
As a mother of two wonderful and accomplished adult kids, I know that her hopes and aspirations for them would involve their happiness, health, safety and success.
As a partner to my thoughtful and purposeful brother-in-law, I know that their involvement, leadership, and exemplary communal involvement at their synagogue, in local, national and international Jewish organizations would center the wellbeing of their community and the Jewish people.
My sister was a teacher for more than 30 years, an award winning, respected, innovative trendsetter in STEM education at a regional and national level. The success of Jewish schools in creating secure, welcoming environments was critical to her paramount objective of raising generations of young Jews, infused with the ethics and history of our people, charting new voyages in science, engineering and technology, both here and in Israel.
Hundreds, if not thousands of people, including many of her former students, were moved to pray for her recovery during her illness. She had done the same for others many times, and no doubt would have found much purpose in asking the Almighty for the recovery of thousands in Israel injured over the last two years of war.
It might seem paradoxical that someone so steeped in science, in formulas, and calculations would find so much meaning in the words King David wrote in Psalms, or the wonders of creation described in the Torah. Yet she did exactly that.
Those who knew her personally and professionally knew that of all the words in Psalms, those in 104:24, Mah Rabu Ma'asecha Hashem, Kulam Bechachmah Asita - "How complex and splendid are Your works, Hashem, all of them You made with wisdom” held the most meaning.
In fact, these were her mantra. And though she is gone now these four years, this message remains with us. I think perhaps they carry even more meaning now.
She loved her family and her community deeply and completely. She was passionate about our homeland, raised funds and awareness to support Israel and Israelis, and carried the legacy of our parents, both active, dedicated, fierce and spiritual Zionists, in all of her endeavors.
Like all of us, I think she would have had confusion and grief after 10/7, and like many of us, she would have sought strength in her identity and faith, and she would have got to work doing all she could to help and support our people, because that’s who she was.
I feel that she would also have been awed by the manner and miraculous nature of Israel’s victories, while at the same time understanding the growing dangers in our own backyard and in communities around the world. Our parents taught us that prayer and thanks have a role, and so does Hishtadlut, actively doing your part to make your world better, kinder, and safer.
As challenging as these times have been, there is resolve, understanding and wellsprings of hope in her worldview - recognizing the complexity of our world and what happens within it, for better and seemingly worse. Seeing the whole system, finding meaning both in the mundane and in the exceptional - and transmitting the perspective to generations of students that they could perceive and have a tangible impact on that complex creation, guided by the ethics and ideals of the Torah and our tradition.
May the legacy of Sarah Leah bat Yaakov veShifra strengthen all of us, both in our deep commitment to Jewish values and Jewish life, as well as in our understanding of and engagement in the world as it is, in all of its challenge, sorrow, wonder and beauty. May her memory be a blessing for Am Yisrael.