YESHIE – Imaginative Tales of a Mother as Told by Another*

   I remember when Yeshie was maybe 2 years old, Joe had made him a mini-mallet. He was pounding away on some piece of wood when he got a little too fervent about proving “It‘s all in the wrist action…“ and managed to smack the end of his thumb! He was not pleased, but he carefully put down the mallet and stepped aside before stomping his little foot and yelling, “Me is AGGRAVATED!“ I had to hide my smile and resist the impulse to “kiss the owie“ because Joe was using it as a “teaching moment.“ He said, “Yeshie, you were doing a powerful job hammering—as your thumb can attest! And I can see you remembered what the rabbi said yesterday about not letting our anger cause us to sin. Good job! I‘ll bet you‘ve also learned to keep your fingers out of the way for next time, just like Noah did!“

   Yeshie used to love to go outside at night and twirl around, pretending to toss newly-created stars up into the sky, giving each one its name. Sometimes I‘d look out the door to check on him, and I‘d see him lying on his back, pointing up at the sky and counting “ninety-eight, ninety-nine, TEN-dy, tendy-one, tendy-two…“

   He‘s always had a special connection with nature.  I remember how we were out of town when he was born, so we had to “pitch camp“ in a barn along the way. A cow came up to him and moo-ed, but little Yeshie lay there calmly.  The same could not be said for ME when “Bessie“ decided he needed a lick!

And to add to the evening’s ambience, some shepherds came piling up around the doorway, and of course some of their herd pushed their way in too. Before I knew it, all those “baa baa black sheep” were stretched out around my baby, making rumbly noises in their chests like they do with their lambs. Yeshie just smiled at them (though I suppose it was only a gas-smile!)

   When he was older and we‘d go to the countryside to visit some friends of ours, their little Shmuli would often pop inside, giggling, “Yeshie‘s at it again—trying to herd the lambs!“ It‘s like he was born to be a shepherd…

TO BE CONTINUED…

*written by amf, St. Beuno’s Retreat House, Wales, July 2023