This is the continuing story of a Jewish woman's spiritual journey and search. Jo Ann Schneider Farris has searched and searched for God in many different ways. In this blog, she tells her past, present, and future stories and shares her thoughts.
It is so fun for me to be able to ski every week with other Jewish people in Sun Valley! The first ski day together was Sunday, December 25, 2022. Jim, who runs the group has declared December 25 as Jewish World Ski Day!
Below are some photos of all the fun I had on Bald Mountain and also some photos of me climbing the back on Elkhorn mountain with my dog Duchess and with Luke who was part of the ski club on 12/25/22 and a member of the Wood River Jewish Community.
I can’t really ski as fast as the group, so I met them at the meeting place, skied a little bit with the group, and then met them for lunch. It was so fun and I can’t wait to ski with them again. It’s fun to ski with friends and get together with others before and after skiing.
Our family has always enjoyed Chabad’s Chanukah celebrations. This one in Ketchum, Idaho was quite small, but so very meaningful. The mayor of Ketchum lit the Shamash (servant) candle and the Wood River Jewish Community’s Rabbi Robbi Sherman lit the fifth night of Chanukah candle. We were given a free latke and a donut!
Usually I just love Rosh Hashanah, but this year’s holiday on Monday 9/26/2022 was different for me. I just seemed to cry and cry all day long.
I went to the mountains like I do every year when I am in Colorado for the holiday, but the memories of the past kept resurfacing and I actually was in emotional pain this year.
I kept seeing memories of my dad being with me on the holiday. I saw memories of my children being young and playing in the mountains. I saw people who I have seen every year for over 25 years at Rosh Hashanah in the mountains and it was good to see them, but I also sensed that their lives too have changed since we all first met when our kids were young. I saw memories of just having a happy day as a family together. Some of those memories made me remember how much I loved our Rosh Hashanah holidays together as a family.
The new year made me reflect on all the losses that have occurred since last Rosh Hashanah. I remember my dear friend Hellene being there with us for so many Rosh Hashanah holidays and how wonderful it was to be with her too. It was if I heard her voice. I wish she had not died.
There was a part of the service where they asked for those who experienced loss in the past year to come to the front for the Misheberach healing prayers. Just realizing that I needed to come up made me cry.
Between the service in the mountains and the Tashlich service at a park in town, Annabelle, Joel, and I went hiking. I cried and cried during the hike.
I am smiling in this photo, but a few minutes before it was taken, I was in tears.
I cried when we ate apples and honey together. I cried at the Tashlich service as we threw bread remembering and reflecting on the year to come in a flowing stream. I cried when it was time for my daughter Annabelle to leave. I cried when I went to bed.
Things are just not the same and I’m wondering if I should be in Colorado at all. Memories are surfacing and there are too many memories of a life that no longer exists.
On Saturday, July 23, 2022, I attended, via Zoom, the Celebration of Life for Paul Meer. I haven’t seen Paul since my husband Dan and I left San Francisco at the end of 1991, so attending was like stepping back in time a bit and into a world I thought I’d left behind me.
Paul was one of the kindest people on earth. Just remembering his smile made me smile. When someone was sick, he’d make them homemade chicken soup and bring it to them. He gave friends beautiful pieces of the pottery he made. He never ever said a negative thing about anyone or anything and he was just so positive.
I learned that in addition to being a potter, he was a gymnast and a nurse.
Attending his memorial were so many people I knew from what I consider a “former life.” It was good to “see” them although I truly believed until yesterday I could never do that. The music played at the service were songs that seemed to have been embedded in my brain. They were like old friends saying hello. As the day wore on, the songs stayed in my head.
Below I’ve pasted some screenshots and videos from the memorial.
RIP Paul Meer. Thank you for being a part of my life and my memories. Thank you for helping me remember there are truly some kind and wonderful people in this world. I hope I can leave a mark on this planet similar to yours.
In the video above, Alan Bond leads the mourners in a messianic version of the Mourner’s Kaddish.
In the video above, a recording is played of Paul reciting the mourner’s Kaddish
The above video was played at Paul Meer’s Celebration of Life
This is a screenshot of a post by Lori Baron. What a beautiful piece of pottery he gave her!
