September Thanksgiving

By Norma Slavit

Who ever had Thanksgiving in the month of September? The answer is the American pilgrims. It is said they got the idea for the harvest celebration from the Bible story that described an ancient Jewish harvest festival called Sukkot.

This story is woven against the setting of Sukkot. Complications arise when Allan (age ten) and his sister, Molly (almost thirteen), resist celebrating this tradition because their grandparents have moved to a retirement village in Arizona. The family decides to bring the holiday all the way across California. That means they have to load unusual things on top of their van. They are a strange sight as they drive across the majestic San Francisco Golden Gate Bridge.

Allans challenge expands when he is given a Sunday school assignment to perform four random acts of loving kindness in four days. He has trouble understanding that mitzvah is a Jewish word that refers to doing an unexpected good deed that can help enrich the lives of people.

In the long, tiring car trip, the family encounters a homeless stranger, a family who is forced to live in their car, a senior citizen whose car crashed into a storefront, and a man in Room 10B who is grouchy and does not come out of his room even for meals.

A Latino girl and a Jewish girl find out how much they share in common in spite of their differences. The childrens intergenerational and multicultural experiences set the stage for a series of mitzvahs that have far-reaching consequences.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Sep 7, 2016
• ISBN: 9781524625092

Norma Slavit

Norma Slavit is a former master teacher who taught in the elementary schools of New Rochelle, New York, and San Francisco. She also taught music at Hillbrook, a private school in Los Gatos, California. A newspaper editor for the JCC Community Center in Palo Alto for over ten years, her position included being marketing and public relations manager. Norma is a member of SCBWI as well as the National League of American Pen Women. Many of her articles and stories have appeared in educational journals, magazines, and newspapers. She has one published play to her credit, and an early story appeared in the Encyclopedia Britannica reading series.

Book preview

2016 Norma Slavit. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse 10/03/2016

ISBN: 978-1-5246-2508-5 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-5246-2509-2 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2016913545

In the event Norma Slavit is not available, her son, Joel Slavit, will act in her behalf for any business pertaining to this book.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models,

and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

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Contents

Foreword

Preface

Chapter 1   Remembering an Ancient Tradition

Chapter 2   The Plan

Chapter 3   Crossing the Majestic Golden Gate

Chapter 4   A Good Deed/Mitzvah Number One

Chapter 5   Quick Thinking/Fast Action

Chapter 6   Blythe RV Park

Chapter 7   Maria’s Secret/Two Girls Bond

Chapter 8   Welcome to Happy Haven

Chapter 9   The Man in Room 10B

Chapter 10   Surprise, Surprise

Chapter 11   The Big Party

Chapter 12   Best Friends

Chapter 13   Goodbye Happy Haven/ Farewell Arizona

Chapter 14   To The Reader/Letters To A Pen Pal

BOOK

DEDICATION

To my precious grandchildren … Ilana, Rachel and Joshua

To my grandchildren’s dear parents … Joel, Betsy, Lisa and Steve

To the memory of my beloved parents … Rose and Max

To the blessed memory of my dear husband … Herb

SPECIAL

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

My heartfelt appreciation goes to Rabbi Magat, Senior Rabbi at Temple EmanuEl, for reviewing my manuscript and for sharing his expertise, suggestions and wisdom.

Special thanks to Leah Kine Bernstein, former Assistant Director of Education at Albert Schultz JCC, for her expertise in Judaic studies, for sharing her stories and whose good deeds are a source of inspiration.

To Louise Webb, former Saratoga News columnist, whose idea for random acts of loving kindness inspired a community.

Thanks to Gabriella, member of my local Automobile Association of America office, for helping map out the Green trip.

A warm acknowledgement to my fiancée, Paul Staschower, for his love and patience.

Foreword

By Rabbi Dana Magat

Many of us have heard of the Jewish High Holy Days of Rosh Hashanah (the Jewish New Year) and Yom Kippur. There is another holy day, and it is called Sukkot or the feast of booths. Sukkot, a harvest festival, occurs a few days after Yom Kippur and lasts for one entire week.

Today, this festival reminds us of our agrarian roots as a people. For seven days we contemplate our ancestor’s way of life in hopes of reminding ourselves that what really matters in life is not all the materialism that surrounds our lives, but the people who are part of our lives.

Sukkot is a time to focus on essentials in our lives such as food, shelter and those loved ones who make up our spiritual sukkah. It is also a time to feel gratitude for what we have and for the many blessings that surround our lives that we so often take for granted.

One of those blessings is the earth upon which we live. Sukkot is a reminder to all of us that the planet is our responsibility, and it is not ours to master.

Rabbi Dana Magat

Temple EmanuEl

San Jose, California

March, 2016

Preface

Before our story begins, I would like to tell you about an event that might have been the first Thanksgiving on earth. No, not the one our American Pilgrims celebrated, but a harvest holiday they read about in their bible. It is the Jewish holiday called Sukkot. (pronounced su-coat).

Long ago, during the growing season when the ancient Jewish farmers had to pick ripe fruits and vegetables quickly before they spoiled, they built little huts