Wednesday, October 4, 2017
I wish I could be with Anyuka’s family today to celebrate her life and her extraordinary legacy of love and strength. There are a million stories to share about Anyu. She had a tender soul that loved so many of us thoroughly; a generous nature that fed every stray teen who wandered in off the street -- and we did so almost every morning, for years -- and she had a big and easy laugh that lit up her amazing blue eyes. Anyuka’s generosity and joy was all the more remarkable for the pain she had known in her life -- fleeing a war torn country with her young family, working hard to establish roots in a new and very different land. Unlike many, difficulty just made her stronger and more compassionate; it broke open her soul and allowed you to see G-d’s light shining through her -- in her laughter, her welcome, her amazing chicken paprikas. I can’t think of Anyuka without thinking of being in her kitchen -- warm, safe, well fed, heard, blessed. No one could ask for a better second mother. I thank G-d for creating such a woman, and I thank her family for sharing her with me.
