My article in the last issue of the Where What When, about a young woman’s experience being hospitalized with COVID, caused some consternation among readers. As a follow-up, and to provide a candid, unrestrained glimpse into hospital life these days, I asked a hospital-employed nurse for an anonymous first-person account of what it is like to take care of a patient load that includes COVID patients.

A distinct memory from my childhood is the many long hours we spent in the car traveling between Connecticut and New York to visit my grandparents. In those days before cell phones, tablets, and other handheld devices – truly the dark ages – there was nothing to do during those long night drives but to...well...sit in the dark. The only entertainment was to look out the window, which, though it may sound dull, was actually magnificent. The sparkling lights of the bridges spanning the vast darkness of water, the other cars and trucks racing to their destinations –  the view was mesmerizing and ever changing. The only constant was the companionship of the moon, which followed me on each journey. I knew I could count on the moon from the minute I left one house to the moment I reached the other.

This is the final installment of “Letters to My Children and Grandchildren.” If you have been following the series, you know that these letters are part of a book of advice for life, based on Pirkei Avos, that I wrote for my children. I have received good feedback from readers and hope that you have been inspired to write your own letters as a legacy to the next generation. If so, then my goal in sharing will have been accomplished.

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Dear Children,

Celebrate simchas and siyumim to their fullest. Each time you celebrate, give proper hakaras hatov (gratitude) to Hashem. Give tzedaka to the less fortunate so they can have simcha as well.

Happiness

In today’s Covid environment, those of our loved ones living in a nursing home or hospitalized are bereft of visits from family and friends. Did you ever wonder how someone in such circumstances interacts with nurses, therapists, and staff when we’re not around? My wife, Rivka Elling, a”h, was resident in King David Nursing and Rehabilitation Center this year, from March 11 until her passing, on September 29. Most of the conversations we had with her centered on matters mundane and routine, with one notable exception: she was very scrupulous in ensuring that the electric Shabbos lights were functional each erev Shabbos.

During shiva, three staff members of King David came to our home to be menachem avel. During this visit, they opened a window on Rivka’s interactions with the staff. For instance, after recovering from a Corona infection sometime in June, she remarked: “G-d loves me. He protected me from the Coronavirus.” I was on the edge of my seat as they went on. It quickly became obvious that she lived on a higher spiritual plane than most. But rather than hearing further from me, read from the pen of Yaffa Citer, below, who works at King David as an occupational therapist:

In a few months, we will be filing 2020 taxes. Boy, what a year this has been! Let’s run through the important things you should be looking into.

First, assuming that Biden has actually won, we can fairly assume he will raise taxes, meaning it is better to earn money in 2020 than it will be in 2021. But charity deductions might not be more valuable in 2021. One thing I read said that under Biden charity might be capped at a 28% deduction, making charity more valuable in 2020! You can read lots of possible scenarios of a new tax law on the internet.

I was eating a sandwich a while back when, without warning, I suddenly felt a small pebble in my mouth – only it wasn’t a pebble. Upon closer inspection I saw that it was a piece of my molar. I felt around the affected tooth with my tongue and discovered a small crater. I’m one of those women who belong to the petrified-of-the-dentist-No- I’m-NOT-going group. Don’t misunderstand me, I don’t mind going to the dentist for my biannual teeth cleaning. I’m okay with everything from plaque removal to teeth polishing. I’ve even learned to tolerate – well, put up with – the occasional filling, as long as the dentist has strict instructions about Novocain and my need for it. But this tooth breaking-off episode clearly did not fall into any of those categories.

While the final word is not in, it would appear that SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus responsible for the current COVID-19 pandemic possibly originated in bats and then spread to humans via infected intermediate host animals in live food markets in China. Human-to-human transmission is primarily through infected airway droplets and aerosols but may also occur through contact with contaminated surfaces. There have been rare instances of coronavirus infection in various non-human species, including tigers, lions, hamsters, monkeys, and ferrets. In April, 2020 there was a COVID-19 outbreak at the Bronx Zoo affecting five tigers and three lions with probable virus transmission from an infected but asymptomatic zookeeper. The big cats had a mild cough and loss of appetite, but all made a quick recovery

Our mother's yahrzeit is on 23 Teves; we are grateful to share our memories davka in this issue that comes out on Chanukah. Our mother was liberated from Bergen Belsen just before Chanukah, and always spoke of the great chasdei Hashem that carried her from those horrific times and throughout her blessed life.

I once read a story about a man who got an invitation and tickets to fly to Switzerland for a wedding. He did know the person but took the opportunity for a vacation. When he got to the wedding, he did not recognize the chassan and asked him who he was and how they knew each other. The chassan answered, “When I was in yeshiva, I was feeling very lonely and was planning to leave the next day. When we were standing in line waiting for lunch, you were behind me. You saw that my collar was not straight, and you reached over and straightened it for me. That small gesture made me realize that I was not alone. I stayed in yeshiva and began to enjoy being there. I owe you my life, and so I invited you to my wedding.”

On Monday, December 6, the United States Supreme Court heard a landmark case which pits three Jewish families against the Federal Republic of Germany.

The Jewish families live in California, New Mexico, and London, England. They are the heirs of prominent Jewish art dealers who were forced to sell their property to agents of Hermann Goering in 1935. The priceless collection of artwork was in turn presented to Adolph Hitler as a surprise birthday gift. Today, it sits in a museum in Berlin with no mention of its history.