After hearing Mrs. Kutliroff's moving talk yesterday about her journey to becoming an observant, committed Jew, I'd like for each of you to respond in the comments section below with your thoughts: Which specific idea or story that she spoke about made the biggest impression on you, and why? Which aspect of her struggles or challenges in becoming Orthodox do you identify with the most, and why? Finally, what is one question you would want to ask Mrs. Kutliroff that you might not have thought of yesterday, or didn't have the time to ask?
I will be sharing this blog with Mrs. Kutliroff (!) so that she can see your comments and questions, so please make sure that you complete this assignment tonight, October 28th, so that she'll be able to reply in a timely fashion.
Finally, here is a link to a PBS segment about the practice of Tahara, featuring none other than my own grandmother, Mrs. Nancy Klein :).
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/religionandethics/2004/02/06/february-6-2004-jewish-burial-practices/1794/
The idea that Mrs. Kutliroff spoke about that made the biggest impression on me was when she went and saw all the talit from the Holocaust. She went and saw at all the camps and the talit were on display. It was really moving to her because those talit were stolen from all the Jews in the Holocaust. She said it was very sad to see that because those men should have been buried in those talit but instead they were burned and their talit were put on display. We were talking about Tahara, the process of cleaning and preparing the body for the funeral and putting it in the casket. This made the biggest impression on me because it is a very emotional thing to see. I had a sort of similar event when I was in Israel. I was looking at the Kotel and it was the only thing left of the Beit Hamikdash. It was so upsetting that people destroyed our holy place. I was standing in front of it just thinking about how this is all that we have left. That is why I found that story so interesting.
ReplyDeleteOne aspect of her struggles in becoming Orthodox that I identified the most was the one about adapting to a new life style and getting used to her parents. She said that when she told her parents they were a little offended and hurt. That must have been difficult for her to deal with because it made her parents feel a little uncomfortable. I chose this one because if I were her I would find it difficult to switch to such a different lifestyle and way of living. Even though she was raised Jewish and kept kosher in the house, she still had to get used to not doing certain things on shabbas. I think it takes a lot to do that and it really shows she tried hard and puts lot of effort in.
My question for Mrs. Kutliroff: Since you decided to become more religious once you got married and met your husband, did you ever think about if you didn't get married to him or meet him? Would you still become more religious and be who you are today? Or would your way of living be different?
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ReplyDeleteI would have to agree with Rebecca on this one. No matter what happens or how long ago it was the Holocaust will not be forgotten. Taking away ones possession and for that after funeral is more depressing than a funeral should be in the first place. More sadly the statement when Mrs Kutliroff said" people are making money off of this museum showing the hair, talit, and shoes." This just hit me and made me look at these museums in almost a cruel way. Yes I am interested in these museums, but I do not feel the need to give them money to see these items not belonging to the owners that are now dead. Today we learned about leadership, and sadly the Holocuast was an act of a leadership movement. This as not a good one and has led to many things including museums filled with things that are unusable and are empty without thier owner.
ReplyDeleteShe faced some very difficult challenges but most of all was probably learning all the rules and mitzvot of Judaism. She has grown to become a great scholar and the head of an orthodox Jewish school.On the other hand, Mrs Kutliroff has changed drastically. A question that I have had time to think about was , it seems as if your husband was uninterested did it bring you down or did it make you ever stop and think ,, why am I doing this? In addition, do you now do anything with reform people and talk to them about becoming more religious?
What I found was one of the most amazing things that she talked about was the fact that she never missed any of the stuff she used to do. Everything that some people imagine doing she has done. Tried all of the fancy non kosher restaurants, not keeping shabbos, and even not dressing immodest. When she was done with that part of her life she was done and didn’t look back. Now I don’t even think she could imagine doing any of those things ever again. She also got to do it with her friend which a lot of people aren't fortunate enough to have someone to change that much with.
ReplyDeletewhat I found the most amazing thing to me is that When she was talking about how she had to purify the body and then dry it. I don't know how she didn't cry or feel really upset that the body that belonged to the family wasn't the last person to see the body. How come you chose to have a job that is very difficult to handle?
ReplyDeleteThe story Mrs. Kutliroff that created a big impression in me was the story of the Tahara. She explained that it is a mitzvah that can’t be returned. A mitzvah Emet. It is the highest level of mitzvot since the person cannot return you the mitzvah. It made a big impression on me because not many people have the opportunity to Tahara because only a few people are chosen. I think actually keeping Shabbos and lighting the candles like she did is the hardest because you have to give up pretty much everything for one day and you are limited to your activities. Like Mrs. Kutliroff said, she wasn’t able to do laundry and that was a big struggle for her to keep since she was used to doing it. Just like her, it is a struggle for me not to use my phone since I use it everyday. One question I would like to ask Mrs. Kutliroff is do you remember one time where you weren’t able to keep Shabbos? Why and how did you feel?
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