The Pendants

    There is a mitzvah (good deed) in the Torah (Bible)to "judge others favorably". In practical terms, this means viewing others in a positive way, and not judging them negatively when it appears that they are doing something wrong or, at best, questionable.

   If any of my friends passed by the jewelry store last week, they may have been puzzled to see me, so soon after Ricki's death, buying jewelry. And I was in the store a LONG time. But what was I doing there, in fact?

   It turns out that two days before Ricki's death, she and I spent the morning at a ceramics class, making pendants as gifts for her best friends and all of her nieces. So early last week, I went to the jeweler with the precious-as-gold (to me)ceramic pendants. The lady at the jewelry store graciously managed to insert chains into the almost-too-small- holes, and refused to take as much as a penny for her time, charging me for the materials alone.

(photo: Picture of ceramic stars and hearts)

A perfect "memory" of Ricki for her nieces, ready to be given them at the "shloshim" (end of the first month of mourning).……