One of the benefits of being Jewish is that you can celebrate your birthday twice: once according to the solar calendar, and once according to the Hebrew lunar calendar.
Yesterday, on Shabbat, I celebrated my Jewish birthday, which falls on the full moon of י״ד בסיוון.
In Hebrew, the letters י״ד (Yud-Dalet) equal fourteen and also spell the word יד (yad), meaning hand.
In the Bible, the hand symbolizes God’s strength, protection, and guidance.
This made me think of my grandfather, Rabbi Chacham Shalom Shimoni.
I remember, as a young child, visiting him and my grandmother Simcha (whose name means happiness) on Shabbat afternoons. He would place a kerchief over my head, rest his hands upon me, and bless me: “May God make you like Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel, and Leah.”
Then I would kiss his hand and place it against my forehead.
Later, when I was in high school, my mother would pack baskets of food every Friday for my grandfather, who lived in a nursing home. After school, I would take the Number 4 bus across Jerusalem to the nursing home, clean his room, put away the food, and spend time with him.
Before I left, he would place a kerchief over my head, rest his hands upon me, and bless me. And I would kiss his hand.
So many years have passed since then, yet I can still feel the trembling hands that blessed me.
I am grateful for those blessings, and for the loving hand, ביד חזקה, that has guided me throughout my life.
And I know that, even now, I am still in very good hands.
