But, life changes. My grandfather's untimely death at 53 abruptly ended the large Friday night gatherings and forced my grandmother to move into a small apartment. And shortly thereafter, my immediate family left Chicago and moved to Peoria, where we felt the sudden loneliness of being newcomers with no relatives or friends in the area. All the while, in our search for familiarity, we continued our Friday night meals of traditional foods. At the same time, the feeling of being a fish out of water propelled my parents to explore our Jewish identity and start to adopt a variety of Jewish observances. Our Friday night meals led to our beginning to light candles, say Kiddush and HaMotzi, and then regularly attend Shabbat services. Later on, when my mother passed away two months before my brother's Bar Mitzvah while I was a high school sophomore, Friday night meals became even more sacred as a way for my father, siblings and I to mourn our loss and keep the memory of my mother alive.

Now, every Friday night when I have my first taste of warm challah, it becomes my madeleine and I am transported in a Proustian reverie to those days half a century ago in my grandparents' house watching my mother help my grandmother in the kitchen. And I am grateful to be with my wife and children every week where we carry on the tradition of Friday night meals and continue to keep those memories alive. L'chaim!
 

STEVE SIEGEL has been active in the Beth Emet community since he and his wife, Dina Elenbogen, and two children, Sarina and Ilan, became members in 1999. He is a current Board member and regular attendee of weekly Kahal services. Outside of Beth Emet, Steve is an actuary and researcher working for the Society of Actuaries, a professional and credentialing association.