From the Imagination of Dr. Nicki: Real Life - Stories I Never Knew... Part 13

Today is Part 13 today of my "Stories I Never Knew..." fictional blog series. There is only ONE installment left tomorrow... Wednesday, October 5, 2016 will be the big finale!!

Over the course of these past two weeks, I've been presenting this 14-part fictional blog story as a part of my blog entitled, "From the Imagination of Dr. Nicki"… Spotlighting original fiction by me. These stories never happened… They are original fiction pieces from my imagination. I hope you are enjoying it. Today, I present PART 13. If you missed any of the previous parts, here are those links to read first:

PART 1 - http://drnickimonti.blogspot.com/2016/09/from-imagination-of-dr-nicki-real-life_19.html

PART 2 - http://drnickimonti.blogspot.com/2016/09/from-imagination-of-dr-nicki-real-life_20.html

PART 3 - http://drnickimonti.blogspot.com/2016/09/from-imagination-of-dr-nicki-real-life_21.html

PART 4 - http://drnickimonti.blogspot.com/2016/09/from-imagination-of-dr-nicki-real-life_22.html

PART 5 - http://drnickimonti.blogspot.com/2016/09/from-imagination-of-dr-nicki-real-life_23.html

PART 6 - http://drnickimonti.blogspot.com/2016/09/from-imagination-of-dr-nicki-real-life_24.html

PART 7 - http://drnickimonti.blogspot.com/2016/09/from-imagination-of-dr-nicki-real-life_26.html

PART 8 - http://drnickimonti.blogspot.com/2016/09/from-imagination-of-dr-nicki-real-life_27.html

PART 9 - http://drnickimonti.blogspot.com/2016/09/from-imagination-of-dr-nicki-real-life_28.html

PART 10 - http://drnickimonti.blogspot.com/2016/09/from-imagination-of-dr-nicki-real-life_29.html

PART 11 - http://drnickimonti.blogspot.com/2016/09/from-imagination-of-dr-nicki-real-life_30.html

PART 12 - http://drnickimonti.blogspot.com/2016/10/from-imagination-of-dr-nicki-real-life.html

It’s astonishing how many ways there are to worship God.

Mama’s uncle Saul is a Hasidic Jew. When we were really little at family gatherings, David and I would hunker down together in the beige entryway, or hunch under the yellow carpeted stairs, or collapse beside the big muted velveteen family room chair and giggle endlessly about dear dusty Uncle Saul. His long “Jewish sideburns” - twisted payes crawling down his cheeks like dark, chocolate brown French crullers - his slab of black hat, huge drooping black coat, and mindless unkempt beard made him fabulous fodder for our childish ridicule. Even his long-lashed, soft dark caramel eyes – eyes that  seemed always to be peering out from behind a secret room – did nothing to protect him from our jabs. “How bout lil Willy…’cause that’s what those things give me…the willys!” David spurted in answer to my question about what name we should give to Uncle Saul’s sideburns. We’d nearly burst with hysteria.

By the way, we weren’t the only ones. All over the house, in hushed corners, you could hear other family members wagging their heads and wrinkling their noses against the odd figure. Later, after I got old enough to begin considering things, I recalled the cruelty that had passed for humor amongst my family members. In retrospect, it saddened me to think of it. Especially when I remembered the things Uncle Saul told me about what his ecstatic faith meant to him.   

After all, maybe Uncle Saul had the right idea. “Prayer is a WAY of celebrating God,” he insisted, shaking an enthusiastic index finger towards heaven, while at the same time punching particular words in a way that added an odd, lilting cadence to his speech. “Annndd…faith IS revealed through reverence for the little things.”

Mostly, Uncle Saul seemed to be about joy. In spite of his dark appearance. In the face of all the surrounding rejection. There was joy in the middle of a sentence - sometimes he’d unpredictably burst into laughter, as if he’d just heard a joke no one else knew - and there was joy in the midst of performing God’s commands.  Simcha shel mitzvah. Joy. An idea often shoved under the carpet with the dust bunnies, when our usual complaining begins.

“Serrvve the community THROUGH personal religious growth”, Uncle Saul taught. And, “remember,” he’d often say, looking suddenly dreamy, as if his new lover had just entered the room, “the most important talmudic statement IS that: God desires...” and then he’d pause, eventually arriving at the final words in a loud whisper, like a reverent wanderer who’d finally found the Temple gate, “…THE heart! God deee-siresss the heart above ALL else.” Maybe it was this intensity that scared the others. Maybe that’s really why they made fun of him.

It’s been a long time since I thought about Uncle Saul. I’m not even quite certain why he’s on my mind right now. Perhaps it’s because I’m having one of those restless, unsure days – one of those times when God seems very difficult to remember – let alone to celebrate. I’m always a little lost at times like this. Uncle Saul never, on the other

hand, seemed to lose his spiritual way. Perhaps he did, but I never saw it.

In many ways, I think it was worth it - that ridicule Uncle Saul faced. After all, what could be better than finding a sure way to love God joyfully.