Birthdays in the Haifa kehilla

On Saturday, December 3, in Haifa, we celebrated the birthdays of six members of our kehilla. Father David came from Jerusalem for this special celebration. This year, Father Roman turned 40 and together with him Stella, Myriam, Lorena, Tair and Joshua also celebrated their birthdays. Unfortunately, Lorena was not able to attend as she had returned from Brazil the day before and was not feeling well.

After mass, Father Roman presented Stella with a special gift. He explained that a year ago, when Stella celebrated her 90th birthday, he had looked for a present but was unable to find anything suitable. This year, he found something and presented to Stella a ceramic tile with the illustration of an angel. The original is in an Armenian church in the New Julfa district in Isfahan, Iran. The inscription at the bottom of the tile says: As long as the angel dances he lives, as long as the angel lives he dances.

We know that Stella will not dance forever, here with us in our kehilla in Haifa. However we thank God for her presence among us and hope for her and for us that we might be able to continue, for the time remaining for her here on earth, to dance and pray in joy to the glory of God.