Kaleidoscope
This is an excerpt from remarks given by my beautiful sister Jennifer Isayev to her daughter, Leah, on her Bat Mitzvah, June 6, 2016, at Temple Shalom in Broomall, PA.
Today is my sister’s birthday. I gave her a handmade, brass kaleidoscope because I cannot imagine another person in my entire life who has extracted the most light out of me, and everyone around her. She continues to teach me to find the beauty, the good, in every soul.
“As I was thinking of a blessing for you today, I kept going back to an image of a kaleidoscope, and also to the Yom Kippur discussion in this room about what is a soul.
On the outside, a kaleidoscope can be plain, it can be ornate. On the inside it is amazing. It has objects, usually of many beautiful colors and mirrors for amazing reflections. But, to see the beauty of a kaleidoscope someone needs to pick it up. Someone needs to look inside, and even if someone looks inside they may not see its many colors until they hold it up to the light. Even then they may not know to turn the kaleidoscope to watch it change. Using the same materials over and over it continues to change. Each kaleidoscope has its own color combinations, movement, and rhythm that is unique.
I feel like this is how I would describe a person’s soul. You cannot always see it directly. It is the interplay of what is inside. It is often only seen indirectly through reflection and interconnection with other people.
Two people in this room have gone above and beyond to help us get to this day more smoothly. Look into the souls of your two grandmothers: Nana (Barbara) and Babushka (Maya). They are two very different people, but what is common in their kaleidoscopes is caring, generosity, and love for you and their family. They both went above and beyond in their own way to help you and me get to this day successfully. We can learn a lot from them. Thank you, Babushka and Nana.
Since I’ve known you a long time, and we have spent a good amount of time together, I feel like I have seen your soul. I have seen your colors. I have seen your movement. I have seen your reflection, and I have seen your connection to others. I love what I see. I love when I see you interacting with others around you. Your joy that you bring with you everywhere is contagious.
As you enter your teenage years, be sure your kaleidoscope is well-oiled, filled with all aspects of yourself (the joyful and the serious), and be sure you are shared with others in the sunlight.”
