In this New Year’s Eve post, I urge all to reflect on 2024. If your year was typical, it brought lots of downs and ups. We learn more from the downs. Let’s discover those lessons and incorporate them into our legacy. When we recover from failures, we can use those stories to teach our heirs resilience. So, let’s not sweep disappointments under the rug. Let’s turn the downtimes into teachable moments and pass those lessons down to our heirs. I was once working with a family who was planning the agenda for a family meeting. The patriarch wanted to present a recap of his successes. Instead, his kids asked him to identify the failures and talk about how he overcame them.
As I look back on 2024, I faced up to some challenges that just go with living—health, family, work. Laurie was always right there with me, and I feel good about the way we recovered from each challenge. On the world stage, 2024 brought a dramatic rise in antisemitism and attacks on Israel. Rather than crumble, I joined forces with others to raise our voices and raise awareness. I am hopeful the future will somehow be better. The hardest thing we confronted in 2024 was losing Laurie’s sister Linda, totally unexpected. But two things happened that tempered our sadness. The first was that right around that time, our 6th grandchild Mia was born. It was a circle of life moment—one life ends, another begins. Mia’s birth brings us enormous joy.
The second salve to soothe our loss was that two weeks before losing Linda, the whole family had gathered in St. Louis for a cousin’s Bar Mitzvah. We had a glorious time. I wrote about this in a post dated June 25, 2024, “Family Matters: Farewell, Dear Linda.” I spoke about it in the eulogy I gave at Linda’s funeral, urging everyone that when presented with an opportunity to gather with family—GO! You never know; it may be the last chance to all be together.
Later in 2024, we took advantage of just such an opportunity to all be together again. Our whole family gathered in New York for our oldest grandchild Stella’s Bat Mitzvah. The experience was rewarding on so many levels. It provided us with magical moments of family connection and lifetime memories. Our dear friend Karen Reisman summed it up so well. As a child, Karen’s mother Anne Cortell was miraculously saved from the Holocaust, though many family members weren’t so fortunate. The impact on Anne was profound, but it empowered her to always give these words of advice: “You HAVE TO celebrate the good times.” (Karen adds a corollary: “because the bad times happen for free.”) As Karen emphasizes, you HAVE TO go celebrate. It’s not optional.
Of the many Bat Mitzvah highlights, the greatest of all was Stella’s speech at Sabbath services. I’ve never been more proud or grateful. Stella stood in front of a packed synagogue and confidently delivered a moving speech. Both her words and her powerful delivery will ring in my memory bank forever. Here is Stella’s Bat Mitzvah speech:
I want to talk to you about Zionism. To me it means that the Jewish people and the land of Israel are one. This not a modern idea, it’s a biblical one, as we read about in this week’s Torah portion, Lech Lecha.
This week’s parsha is really special because it is literally the birth of Zionism. Hashem tells Avraham to leave his birthplace, his father’s home, and to follow Him to a new land. Without any hesitation, Avraham packs his bags and goes. Hashem brings Avraham to the land of Israel and promises, “I will make you into a great nation in this land.”
This, right here in this Parsha, is the beginning of the Jewish people AND our connection to the land of Israel!!!! We have been one nation bound to the land of Israel and G-d from the very beginning of our story!!
Now, I want to get personal for a minute. I had always known my Jewish identity was number one thanks to my family, my school, and of course my AMAZING synagogue (love you guys!).
But on October 7th, I was in Israel, getting ready for shul, when my baby brother ran out of our hotel room. I went to go get him, and as I was in the hallway, I heard someone next to me banging on their dad’s door, shouting, “Dad, dad! Hundreds of rockets were just launched into Israel!” The dad ran downstairs to tell the hotel, and I went back to tell my mom. She told me, “You’re fine, don’t worry,” but then, just a minute later, the sirens went off. I grabbed my baby brother and we ran downstairs to the bomb shelter.
In that moment, the whole world changed for me—and for every Jew. Suddenly Zionism—our connection to Israel— wasn’t just something I heard my parents talking about all the time anymore. It became real. I understood the Jewish people’s responsibility to protect the land of Israel and stand with our people all over the world, no matter what.
I saw the hatred against us, I saw my brothers and sisters suffering, and I realized how important it is to protect our home. I also saw how so many people turned on the Jews all over the world.
But I also saw something else. I saw the bravery of our soldiers, risking their lives to defend Israel, and I saw people all over the world, like my mom, standing up for what they believe in—even when they’re getting hate and death threats. She keeps fighting for what’s right, and I’m so lucky to have her as my role model.
That experience made me see Zionism in a whole new way. It’s not just about believing in Israel and loving Israel—it’s about protecting it, caring for it, and standing up for it. And the same thing goes for the Jewish nation. It’s our job to defend our people whether it’s in the battlefield, online, or in the streets.
If we don’t, who will?
And now that I’m becoming a bat mitzvah, I realize that this responsibility is part of what it means to grow up as a Jewish woman. It means taking responsibility—not just following the mitzvot, but being there for our people and for Israel.
After my experience in Israel on October 7th, I decided to choose IDF Widows and Orphans as my bat mitzvah project. The soldiers of the IDF are like the protectors of the promise made in Lech Lecha. When they give their lives for Israel, we have to take care of their families. This is how we stand together as Am Yisrael—the Jewish nation.
I got to meet and spend time with the orphans over the summer and just a couple weeks ago. These kids lost their parents in the war. I can’t imagine how hard that must be. This organization has camps, special events, and a bar and bat mitzvah program for the kids my age so they can feel special and supported by all of us.
I am so blessed that today on my bat mitzvah I have both my mom and dad here, but these kids don’t. So we have a duty to support them as the Jewish nation. Their parents sacrificed their lives for all of us. Meeting them, hugging them, getting to know them, and supporting these programs for them has left a huge mark on my heart.
Lech Lecha is the story of how we became a people and how G-d gave us our homeland. All in one breath. Just like Avraham answered G-d’s call to journey to Israel, today I’m becoming a bat mitzvah and taking on the responsibility to care for Israel and our people. G-d promised us we would be a great nation. He promised us the land of Israel. But he never promised us it would be easy. So I know I have a big job to do now as a Jewish woman.
I will always remember the sacrifices made to protect our land, from the time of Avraham until today, and make sure they are never forgotten. Today, as I enter adulthood, I commit myself to doing whatever I can for the Jewish nation and the land of Israel. May I always go where G-d leads me to serve my people and my homeland, just like Avraham.
[For any who are interested, the website for the Israel Defense Forces Widows and Orphans can be found by searching IDFWO Organization. I’m thrilled to report that Stella has raised about $30,000 toward her goal of $36,000. She told everyone to make donations rather than give her gifts. That’s the kind of kid she is. Laurie and I are overwhelmed with gratitude.]
Here’s wishing all of you many good lessons from 2024!
Marvin Blum’s 12-year-old granddaughter Stella Savetsky delivered a Bat Mitzvah speech we’ll cherish forever.
