Saturday, September 6, 2014
Wendi was an extraordinary lady who left an indelible impact on me. I met her at Loudoun County Library where she facilitated a short course on graphic novels. The discussions and her insights were fascinating, but that is not where this ends. She gently and persistently suggested that I come to Shoreshim for services. We had talked and I told her that I felt like an orphan (which I technically am, albeit an old one) when the High Holy Days roll around. Although I would take the days off and have a special dinner, I just didn’t have any particular place to celebrate with Jews. When she suggested I come to an event at Shoreshim, I demurred telling her I was not a “joiner.” She mentioned it to me more than once. I did come for Rosh Hashonah and Yom Kippur later that year, I certainly had no other place to go; I was surprised and pleased to see my teacher on the bima addressing the congregation as its president. My friend Bonni joined shortly after, loved it and also urged me to attend events. Eventually, I became aware that Shoreshim is something special and that I wanted to be part of it. Thank you Wendi. Also, a couple more things. Wendi had plans to facilitate a writers workshop, which I was planning to attend. I have always written plain technical English, but longed to do something more creative. I knew that Wendi would be an encouraging and constructive influence and when she first became ill, I hoped that she could recover so that I could take the course, join her book club, and be around her; I really wanted to be friends with her. Sadly, that was not to be. The last thing I will say is that David, Eli, and Alex came to meet Wendi after each class she taught. Almost everyone in the group, including me, tried to engage Wendi in discussions after the actual session ended. She would politely disengage to join her family. This seemed somewhat incongruous to me. Wendi was obviously an accomplished writer and teacher, what was this family connection, most women I knew who had risen professionally could not stay married? Well, as I eventually found out, Wendi had it all. She was nurtured by the love she gave and received from her boys. If she would have stuck around a little longer I could have observed and maybe learned something about love. May G-d bless and keep her soul.
