Home Presentation for Yom Kippur Symposium 5761, October 9, 2000
When Rabbi Stahl invited me to be one of the participants in today's Yom Kippur service, I was extremely honored. Without hesitation I said yes. Since then, many thoughts about being Jewish and the impact of Judaism on my life have been going around in my head. Everyday I think of another reason why I'm Jewish and proud of it. My Jewish roots run deep: on my mother's side of the family--her maiden name was Carrie Pfeiffer -- I am a fourth generation Jew. We can trace my great-grandparents back to 1776 in Bavaria, Germany.
I am now a senior citizen, but as a child born and raised here in San Antonio in Temple Beth-El, I took my Judaism for granted. My father, Dr. Alexander Brown, was not a very religious person and he left participating in Friday night and Saturday morning services to my mother. We came mostly in those days to Saturday services. I attended religious school at Temple and was confirmed in 1937 by Rabbi Ephraim Frisch. I was in his last confirmation class before his retirement. In those days I took my Judaism and religious education for granted. There was no such thing at Temple Beth-El as Bat mitzvah, and only the boys who had a special tutor became Bar mitzvah. Hence my two brothers and my cousin John Pfeiffer were only confirmed.
We didn't hide being Jewish from our public school friends, but we didn't flaunt it, either. We really led a kind of double life.
I was very lucky as I personally never experienced any anti-Semitism.
All this changed with two events: The first was Rabbi Jacobson's appointment as our spiritual leader. He encouraged the boys to study for Bar mitzvah and enriched the religious school experience, making it much more interesting.
The second was the rise of Hitler to power in the early 1930's before the real horrors of the Holocaust began. Jewish people began to work to help get people out of
Europe and to the U.S. or another safe country. Life definitely changed and with it, our religious ideals became more important, especially to me.
It was during this time that I met my husband, M.D. Cohen, who was already in the army stationed here at Ft. Sam Houston. We were married in Aug. 1941 by Rabbi Jacobson. On Dec. 7, 1941, Pres. Roosevelt declared a state of war and all the young men, Jewish and non-Jewish, were called to serve our country. After W.W.II was over and the men came home, life changed again. Jewish people wanted to let others know they were Jewish. We were also hungry for information about the Holocaust and any news of our loved ones, I really became involved with learning about Judaism when my two sons, David and Melvin, started religious school. It was at this time I became active in the Temple Sisterhood, and even today as a senior citizen I serve on the Sisterhood Board.
Being a member of Temple Beth-El Sisterhood has been an on-going education. I've met so many people whom I admire and from whom I have learned so many things, from how to feel spiritual to how to preside over a meeting. I am still learning whenever I'm at a Sisterhood event.
Most recently my sons and I have become interested in finding our roots. My father's side of the family came from Russia. My husband's side of the family came from Poland. Last summer, my son Mel and I went to Eastern Europe to Poland, Lithuania, Budapest and Prague. We saw for ourselves the horrors of the death camps and what agony these people endured. I learned to admire these unsung Jewish heroes for their immense bravery and courage; I know if I had been in the same situation I would not have survived 24 hours.
I have many non-Jewish friends, but they all know I'm Jewish and respect me for my beliefs as I try to respect them for theirs. I'll have to admit, however, that I am more comfortable around my Jewish relatives and friends as I can speak my mind and discuss my religion candidly. I have developed a thirst for knowing and reading everything I can about Jewish people, Jewish life, and Jewish subjects.
In closing, I want to thank Rabbi Stahl for inviting me here today and for giving me the chance to assess the importance Judasim has had for me. To sum it up, then, I have to say that the impact of Judaism on my life is that Judaism IS my life.
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