I challenge how one’s personal belief can engage with communal bureaucracy and then I confront the issue of continuity: continuity of what?
At this point it is appropriate for me to express my heartfelt gratitude to one of this world’s very special people, my secretary and personal assistant, Maree Thompson. Maree has devoted over thirty years of her life to my family. Not only does she work tirelessly and aim always for perfection – a big call for a mortal human being – but, even more importantly, she is a Mensch (Yiddish: a very positive and decent sort of human being), with a capital “M”. Maree organises my life and our group of companies. She is the very efficient behindthe-scenes quiet achiever. On top of everything else in our hectic week, Maree gets dumped with all of my papers and bits and pieces. These include my lo mesudar writings, with never a comment or complaint.
Maree typed it onto the computer, fixed up my spelling mistakes and added in her own little notations for me to look at after she had finished with a batch of work. She is always encouraging and enthusiastic; a very positive person. So, a big, special thank you to my Maree.
There are three other very special people in this world who have also greatly impacted upon me and my life. These are our “proof readers”, in alphabetical order – Timmy Rubin, Orlee Schneeweiss and Vivienne Wenig. Thank you, thank you, thank you. You have injected much more than your language skills. You have given of the heart and touched the soul. Your advice, encouragement and positive feedback is inspirational and this has nurtured me beyond words. I express my heartfelt appreciation for who you are.
Victor Majzner – we have known each other even before we met. Your artistic expression is inspirational. Your work sings and dances – it is passionate and alive – it talks! The colours, shapes and harmony of balance resonate into the soul; Kabbalah, Midrash and Torah – Israel, Australia, humanity, nature and the Divine – all connected together. Thank you, Victor.
Thank you to Leor Broh for assistance in translations and interpretations; and Rabbi Eli Gutnick for his creative hand-written illustration [fig. 1].
I also wish to thank my family and to acknowledge their advice and support over all of this time. Dina is the matriarch of our family. She grew up in Israel under very difficult conditions, arriving there as a one-year old, Italianspeaking immigrant. She was raised without a father and her late mother had to work hard to support the family. At fifteen she moved to Sydney, Australia, where she had to learn English while completing her high school education.
Today we are blessed with four children, all of them married to wonderful partners in life who are also like our own children. They are all university-educated and have good careers. Most importantly, all are fine, decent, honest and caring people. We are blessed with ten beautiful grandchildren whom we see a lot of and enjoy immensely. We are all very close and share an intimate, loving and caring relationship.
Over the years Dina, Tony and Sharon, Sharonne and Michael, Tammy and Joel, and Dalia and Adam have encouraged me and have also been variously critical of my work. All in all, my gratitude and unqualified love goes out to each and every one of you. Without you, I could not have achieved this work.
I am a lucky person to feel loved by so many.
There are many kinds of love and one can love many people at the same time. There are also many colours and dimensions of love. Each love contains overlapping feelings, devotions, passions and loyalties; but despite the overwhelmingly similar qualities, there are also differences.
It is good to love and to feel loved. In fact, life is terribly empty when it is devoid of love. People search for perceived love in so many ways and, sadly, so often the search proves to be futile. Perceived love is not true love. Love is inside a person. It can be opened up and nurtured or it can be suppressed and denied.
It is healthy to tune into the warmth and the love which is all around. This is what life has to offer as its most sparkling treasure.
There are some wonderful people who have devoted quality time to reading the early drafts of the chapters contained in this book. You know who you are and your encouragement, support and assistance to me have been invaluable. Thank you.
These people include a wide range of different human beings: young and less young, religiously observant and non-observant, intellectuals and everyday people, passionate and passive people from many walks of life and of different nationalities. Some became deeply involved. Many encouraged me with their patient feedback. Some were even inspired by what they read.
From my own, personal point of view, I have gained and grown immeasurably from all of your truly amazing feedback to me. You gave my writings literary credibility, spiritual personality and human value. Moreover, you helped bring all of the various parts together for me and breathed life into it so that it became a complete book, a work of integrity.
We were finally ready for publishing, but Thomas (Schwedi) cautioned me as he shared his experiences. This initiated a new search over another year – may I say, a most worthwhile search, after many meetings, thanks to Ze’ev of Sunflower Bookshop in Melbourne. We could not have worked with finer publishers than Hybrid Publishers. Thank you Louis de Vries for your warm, personal, professional commitment and thank you, Anna Rosner Blay, artist, creative writer and talented editor-in-chief.
Thank you, my friends. This book is for you all.
I pray that Rabbi Adin Even Yisrael Steinsaltz should be healthy in long life, to continue to share all of his wisdom, together with his humility and humanity and thus to help improve the world.
Thank you for sharing my thoughts and my journey. Nesi’ah Tovah – bon voyage – with yours.
Enjoy the journey more than the destination. The joys of life are in all of the little things along the way.
Ron Goldschlager Melbourne, Australia 2010
1: Ageing
Everybody wants to feel loved and valued for who and what they are. This need to feel wanted and worthwhile plays a major role in our decision-making, moods and wellbeing.
To a great extent, life revolves around these feelings and the perceived fulfilment of this need. This need is driven by expectations which, in themselves, reflect our perceptions of life. Experiences fuel and modify these expectations.
Ageing is the life journey of the body and the mind. Body and mind may progress together, synchronised by realities – or move along two very different, largely unrelated routes, as a result of misperceptions that cannot be fulfilled.
There it was at the top of the gentle rise, just a few hundred metres ahead: the Emmy Monash Home for the Aged. I was startled by a clang followed by a clacking noise. It was only a green and yellow tram moving along its tracks in the middle of Hawthorn Road. I looked over to my left as I continued walking up the hill and observed happy faces peering out at me from the tram windows and a few cars driving along the road behind the tram. Things to do. Places to go. People to see.
I came to the traffic lights at the intersection, turned right and found myself at the entrance. I looked around. Pretty flowering shrubs were growing out of the garden beds on both sides. I was enchanted by the sweet fragrance and watched a few large bees buzzing around the flowers as I heard a distinctive click and saw the door in front of me slide open.
Inside I went. The smell was quite different, as was the atmosphere. There was some noise. I looked around me: a small office just ahead; a lounge to my left. The noise attracted my attention. I walked over to the corner where two people sat in animated conversation, or was it conflict?