Songs in the Key of September

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Mark Koch. Songs in the Key of September

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Songs in the Key of September

INTRO: Winter 1958

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I learned not to discuss politics with my family in Israel. While I respected their religious adherence and beliefs and never felt I had the right to question their level of observance, to my eldest sister, being non-observant, and having no desire to move to Israel, were more than enough reasons to treat me as though I was not a good enough and decent enough Jew, and that my sister was ashamed I was part of her family. It did not matter to her that my level of observance was not that much different than our parents but somehow it gave her reasons to denigrate me and criticize my lack of adherence to Jewish customs, rituals, and holidays. Although my feeling was that the way my sister and her husband and their children observed Judaism and lived their lives was none of my business, I was constantly ridiculed for my lack of observance. My sister was a very judgmental person. When wealthy family friends would visit Israel and spend a night or two at my sisters home inevitably I always heard my sister comment on the shoddy gift they brought her and her family. For someone who claimed to be so observant and knowledgeable about her faith, she somehow forgot that in Judaism having a guest in your home is an honor, and whether or not the guest brings you a gift should never matter.

I wondered why my parents were calling me in the late morning on a Tuesday when they always called me on Friday evenings and like so many other times where you remember exactly what you were doing and where you were when you heard some terrible news I would remember this day forever. My dad spoke first and told me that he and my mom learned the day before that he had acute myeloid leukemia. My mom then got on the phone and spoke with me as well in a calm, but decidedly sad voice. I did not learn at the time what my parents already knew, that my dad was originally given six to eight months to live. He was buried exactly eleven months from the day they learned he had leukemia. I remember calling my sisters and the sister I thought would be the most emotional held back tears and sounded solemn but clear headed while the sister I thought would handle the news most stoically was not able to hold back her tears. My parents lives, and my life were about to change forever. I didn’t know it then but the call I received from my parents that day was about to set events in motion that would change my life forever.

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