I’ve always thought of Shir Ami as a 21st century shtetl. We communicate with one another in an instant across cyberspace through the web in the same way that our grandparents and great grandparents in Eastern Europe used to share their neighborhood talk across the garden or through an open window. And now I am preparing a member of our congregation for his Bar Mitzvah in June on Skype.
The Filatovs have been members of Shir Ami since we formed in 2003. At the same time that we became a sacred family, they lost a precious member of their family. Vadim Filatov lost his battle with cancer leaving his beloved wife Isabelle and their three young sons. Pierre, who was eight when his father died, celebrated his Bar Mitzvah last June. Armand, just six at the time of his father’s passing, will turn thirteen in May with his Bar Mitzvah planned for June 26. And Alexander was just a year old when his father was lost to all who knew and loved him.
Now, after six years as a single mom running the business aspects of Vadim’s multi-location eye institute, Isabelle felt drawn to return with her children and Vadim’s mother to her family in France. Surrounded by loved ones, Isabelle, Lillian, and the three boys are settling into their new life. So what to do about Armand’s Bar Mitzvah? We meet on Skype every Wednesday for his weekly Bar Mitzvah lessons.
I sent him off last summer with all of his printed materials along with a CD of his Torah and Haftarah portion. Armand is an excellent student with a love of learning. I often feel moved by his eagerness to learn and find myself explaining grammar and content on a pretty deep level. But after two weeks of lessons on Skype, I know that Armand will be like every student I have taught over the last thirty years as a congregational cantor/rabbi.
The first lesson was great. We had begun our studies two years ago, but hadn’t had a lesson since last June, and after a seven month hiatus, I was amazed at how much Armand remembered. But the newer material I assigned for our second lesson was not so prepared! It was a little strange admonishing him across the Atlantic Ocean, offering gentle and not so gentle reminders of the responsibility he has taken on in deciding to become a Bar Mitzvah, as well as suggestions about how to approach his studies. I am sure that we will have a much better lesson this week
On a very personal note, Vadim performed lasik surgery on my eyes just two months before he died. I had worn glasses for near-sightedness and astigmatism since I was six, and about a year before I turned fifty reading became a challenge with letters starting to dance right off the page . What a miracle of modern science to be able to open my eyes upon waking each day and see the world with clarity of vision. What a miracle to able to open a book or newspaper, a prayerbook or the torah and read the text with clarity of vision. Vadim is with me every day of my life.
We are, indeed, in a very brave new world - protesters in Iran using BlueTooth to scatter their documentary evidence across hundreds of cellphones to escape its suppression, Google in China changing the face of communication in its protest of privacy violation - what extraordinary times! I'm proud that our congregation is among the first to exploit technology for spiritual connection across the miles, sending (and receiving back!) the age old wisdom of our ancestors, renewing its relevance for a new millennium.
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