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Posts by Judy Davidovics

Shabbos Before the First Aliyah: A Mother’s Blessing to Her Children

By Judy Davidovics | July 25, 2019 | 0

Leaving and Returning, From the familiar and safe to the unknown. Though your presence here will be missed, You are guided by an emunah, A belief and faith that all will be good. Idealistic and pure in love and devotion, Ready to meet head on all challenges. Praying they will be few and not too…

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thelayersproject

The Layers Project Magazine
"This is the one I was dreading the most. ⠀ ⠀ "This is the one I was dreading the most. ⠀ ⠀ Every year, as I’ve counted and commemorated each yahrzeit, I realized that I was tiptoeing towards this one. The milestone that I, as the youngest child, would reach first. The milestone that I would reach alone. As my dad’s sixteenth yahrzeit draws near, I am approaching a life spent longer without him than with him. And it’s a petrifying thought. ⠀ ⠀ I cling desperately to memories of him that have started to fade, and still hurt for each milestone he’s missed over the past sixteen years. In the loneliness of the last several months, I’ve had ample time to reflect on the almost compulsive fear I have of forgetting. Forgetting him. Forgetting our shared memories. Forgetting everything he taught me. So recently, I pulled out an old notebook, which has mostly sat dormant for the last several years. This notebook is a remnant of another era. A one-subject college-ruled spiral notebook with a blue cover and 70 sheets of paper within. I’m not even sure that anyone else knows this notebook exists. And yet it is one of my treasures. ⠀ ⠀ Written on the first fourteen pages is a chronicle of the last few days of my dad’s life, up until the day of his funeral. A chronicle through the eyes of a very sad sixteen-year-old. I wrote it a few short weeks after my dad passed away, and the writing is neither eloquent nor engrossing - it is simply a matter-of-fact accounting of every possible detail I could recall. I started it off with this sentence: “I’ve been worrying constantly these last few weeks about forgetting my father and the weeks that led up to his death.” From there, my pen takes off at a frenetic pace, providing a detailed account of what happened, where we went, who came to visit in the hospital, my dad’s transfer to hospice, and me finally coming to terms with losing him...”⠀ ⠀ ⠀ "Sixteen years." written by Pamela Kaplan. Full essay link in the bio. Thinking about Pam today on her father’s yartzeit. May his neshama have an aliyah. ⠀ ⠀ #Thelayersproject #thelayersprojectmagazine #jewishwomen #grief #memory #father #loss #writing @pamkap
Today is a day where there is a theme of thanks. ⠀ ⠀ Practicing gratitude is a wonderful tool to help strengthen our resilience in difficult times. ⠀ ⠀ Thanksgiving might be different this year, and you might not be celebrating the way you usually do. ⠀ ⠀ Perhaps this can be an opportunity to reach out to someone you love and appreciate. Tell them why they mean so much to you. Tell them how grateful you are to have them in your life. ⠀ ⠀ For us on The Layers Project team, we are so appreciative of the warmth, love, and support around what we do here. We are so touched by the all the responses to our exciting news that we have a book coming out next year. ⠀ ⠀ None of this would be possible without your encouragement-- from the very beginning of Layers Project and through these years of growth. ⠀ ⠀ We are so grateful for you <3⠀ ⠀ Shira and Rachel⠀ ⠀ #Thelayersproject #thelayersprojectmagazine jewishwomen #gratitude #love #grateful #thankyou #thankful #thanksgiving2020 #thanksgiving #family #friends #givethanks
“Are You Ok?⠀ ⠀ I may not answer honestly.⠀ I may not answer at all.⠀ I may not answer in gratitude for you asking.⠀ ⠀ But whether I'm ok or not, you asking me tells me it's OK not to be. ⠀ ⠀ That it's a thing in life to not be OK. A lot. ⠀ ⠀ That we juggle, we struggle, we wrestle-- and it can be lonely, dark, and confusing. ⠀ ⠀ Maybe I'll tell you that I'm not ok.⠀ Maybe I'll tell you later when I have more words for it.⠀ Maybe I'll never tell you. ⠀ ⠀ But you asking me is telling me that you see that beyond my practiced facade, I might not be OK.⠀ ⠀ That we can be strong and not be OK- and that perhaps strength isn't in having it all together but in having the courage to admit that we don't.”⠀ ⠀ - anonymous submission⠀ ⠀ Meghan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex, wrote a powerful piece about individual and collective loss, including her recently experiencing pregnancy loss.⠀ ⠀ She talks about these three words- Are You Ok- as a bridge to conversation, connection, and community.⠀ ⠀ When that flows, so does the power of healing.⠀ ⠀ #Pregnancyloss #areyouok #Grief #healing #loss #miscarriage #meghanmarkle #family #lossesweshare #thanksgiving #checkin #listening @sussexroyal
It’s been two and a half years and I am so excit It’s been two and a half years and I am so excited to FINALLY share my secret.⠀ ⠀ I wrote you a book. ⠀ ⠀ “Layers; Personal Narratives of Struggle, Resilience, and Growth From Jewish Women” will (God willing) be published by Toby Press, an imprint of Koren Publishers, in 2021. ⠀ ⠀ It has been an incredible adventure traveling the land of Israel in the first years of my aliyah to meet the women of this country. I can’t begin to describe what my own emotional journey has been-- sitting with them in their pain, reveling in their resilience, and learning from their healing. I am so excited to introduce them to you all!⠀ ⠀ Presented in our unique Layers style, I’ve written over thirty never-before-seen profiles featuring challenges and triumphs of Jewish women in Israel. ⠀ ⠀ Within these hundreds of pages are true stories, full-color images, raw emotions, and universal experiences. ⠀ ⠀ What it's like to feel lost, found, and everything in between. ⠀ ⠀ What it takes to begin again even when it feels like the end. ⠀ ⠀ What it means to live, to love, and to leave our hearts open to joy and meaning-- even in the face of loss, tragedy, and uncertainty. ⠀ ⠀ I have so much to tell you. I have so much to show you. So much gratitude to share.⠀ ⠀ For now, I am thrilled to share that alongside Rachel Hercman, LCSW- who clinically edited this book- we have created a personal and powerful text that is a meaningful time-capsule of conversation. ⠀ ⠀ We look forward to these stories deepening the way we connect and continuing to expand the conversations we have in our communities, with those close to us, and most of all-- within ourselves. ⠀ ⠀ If you would like to be the first ones to hear about the updates, behind-the-scenes content, and most importantly when you can get a copy- sign up for our Layers Newsletter that will contain the latest updates. Link to *SIGNUP* in the linktree in the bio. ⠀ ⠀ Our faces. Our voices. ⠀ ⠀ I can’t wait to tell you these stories.⠀ ⠀ #Thelayersproject #layersbook #bookannouncement #jewishwomen #faces #stories #bignews
"It's so hard for me to be far away from him, not "It's so hard for me to be far away from him, not to be able to hold him through this, for me to grieve alone and not say my goodbyes, and to manage everything on the home front.⠀ ⠀ Today it's been a month since my husband left to go abroad to be with his family member who is very unwell. It has been tough on so many levels.⠀ ⠀ But I can stay calm when I have some sense of control and today I didn’t. It made things so much more complicated. ⠀ ⠀ He is supposed to get on a flight back home tomorrow but his family member’s condition has taken a turn and so the uncertainty of not knowing if he would be back this week or not, and wondering how I would break the news to the kids, and feeling so incredibly torn about whether he should stay or come back and the overarching tragedy of him losing his family member was all just too much for me.⠀ ⠀ I went to make the kids lunch but knew that I was beginning to disassociate from time and place (which is how my body responds to intense stimuli such as this). ⠀ ⠀ I wanted to remain present for the kids, so I pulled everything I could out of my toolkit...”⠀ ⠀ To read the full essay of our anonymous writer, "Stopping to Surrender" check out the link in the linktree in the bio.⠀ ⠀ #thelayersproject #thelayersprojectmagazine #mindfulness #grief #toolkit #toolbox #sensory #calm #control #anxiety #tears #jewishwomen #jewishfamilies #covid19 #coronavirus #anonymous #essay
"On March 3, 2020 I was sitting at a continuing ed "On March 3, 2020 I was sitting at a continuing education course with some colleagues. ⠀ I remember getting texts on my phone that we had our first COVID patient. ⠀ ⠀ None of us knew what to do with this information and considered leaving the course. I remember this as a pivotal point before all the insanity began at our large NYC hospital. ⠀ ⠀ My work life quickly transitioned to “Covid Land” in which I was redeployed to be on a special ICU team to work with the sickest of the sick as an occupational therapist. Slowly we stopped recognizing each other behind all of our gear, our faces were raw and in pain and my jaw actually went out of alignment from 14 hour days without breaks. ⠀ ⠀ I consider myself to be a generally positive person but this has been the most challenging time in my life. I honestly believe that every single person has been through incredible challenges since March and I wish I had the answers on how to cope throughout these times..."⠀ ⠀ To read Atara Sheinson's full essay, "Shifting Perspectives" click the link in the linktree found in our bio.⠀ ⠀ #thelayersproject #thelayersprojectmagazine #covid19 #coronavirus #corona #OT #occupationaltherapist #heros #medicalstaff #jewishwomen #masks #PPE #socialdistancing
Sending virtual support in a complicated time.⠀ Sending virtual support in a complicated time.⠀ ⠀ “I can live through this moment.”⠀ ⠀ ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️⠀ ⠀ #Expressionsofresilience #resilience #moment #livethrough #thelayersprojectmagazine #jewishwomen #thelayersproject
“... I wanted to commemorate this 20th dia-versa “... I wanted to commemorate this 20th dia-versary by sharing a bit of my story. I have lived more than half my life with this disease. Here are my takeaways: ⠀ ⠀ 1. Be thankful for the health I have. I thank God for the miracles that have been achieved in medicine that keep me alive. To go to the bathroom, to see, to digest food. These are miracles that are so easy to take for granted. ⠀ ⠀ 2. Awareness for Type 1 Diabetes is so vitally important, as it’s kind of invisible unless you know what to look for. It’s not a glamorous disease or well-known, but it deserves a cure! ⠀ ⠀ 3. Be that friend to someone else. You have no idea how your support or encouragement to someone going through a challenge can be the lifeboat that saves them.⠀ ⠀ So much love and gratitude to all who have been with me on my journey.”⠀ ⠀ To read Jessica Koenigsberg’s full essay and hear her whole story from the beginning check out the link in the linktree to her essay.⠀ ⠀ #thelayersproject #thelayersprojectmagazine #diabetes #type1diabetes #jewishwomen #jewishfamilies #triumphoverchallenge #healing #diabetesawareness #diabeteswarrior
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