This past Hanukkah, my mother gave me a wonderful gift. Soon after my great grandparents arrived in the United States from Budapest back in the late 1800's, they had a family portrait taken. My great-grandfather was a Rabbi, and in the portrait he is dressed in his liturgical clothing. They had three children at the time, and my great-grandmother likes like a queen, sitting in front of her husband, surrounded by her children. This portrait has hung in our family home for several generations, and after reading an article on photo preservation, my mother had it taken to a local university to be cleaned and restored.
In the process, she had several prints of the portrait made, and on the third night of Hanukkah, my two brothers, three sisters, and I, all in our respective homes all across the country opened our own copy of that print, safely placed in an archival quality custom frame that was engraved with our family name as well as the names of the people in the photograph. Mom texted me to ask if I liked the present, and I called back, on the verge of tears, thanking her for the wonderful gift. She posted a copy of it on our family website, and several of our cousins have asked for copies as well.
I have our copy of the portrait hanging in my office at home. I just finished my chaplain's training to serve as the resident rabbi at our local hospital, and I am especially pleased to be sitting underneath that portrait, the latest in a long line of rabbis.
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