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Dash Continued from Page 16
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that night, my nightmares of
barking Jewish demons ceased.

Th ose seven days were a
shiva. Not the traditional ones
we held for my grandmother
or my uncle, but one of quiet
acceptance and world-altering
mourning. Aft er the week had
passed, both the sky and my
thoughts had cleared.

Th ere’s an Anne Frank quote
I fi rst read in eighth grade
that I’ve been thinking about
recently: “Th e best remedy for
those who are afraid, lonely
or unhappy is to go outside,
somewhere where they can be
quite alone with the heavens,
nature and God. Because only
then does one feel that all is
as it should be and that God
wishes to see people happy,
amidst the simple beauty of
nature.” I used to think that I
understood this quote, that
surely bright yellow daff odils
blooming in the summer and
variegated snowfl akes dancing
down in the winter could make
us smile for a time, but I never
knew nature to be so healing,
so restorative, so spiritual, and
I feel profoundly grateful that I
experienced its power.

Since I’ve been back at
school, I’ve been going on long
walks, ranging anywhere from
four to 12 miles. I don’t take a
set course, I just put on some
music and wander. Around 6
p.m., as I begin to meander
back to my apartment, the sky
paints itself in brilliant colors.

Oft en, I stop and just watch
the cotton-candy clouds and
the fading sun and I think
about stars that die quickly
but shine long and a merciful
God who sculpted such beauty
and granted us eyes with which
to see it. I think about souls’
safe passages and prayers
whispered into the sound of
paws scratching velvet ears.

I used to see God in
Jewish objects and spaces, in
pinned-on kippot, family-
fi lled synagogues, and the
neat Hebrew lettering of
printed prayers. Yet it seems
now that God is equally in
nature, holding the paintbrush
that colors the sunsets, sprin-
kling the water that quenches
the buds’ thirst, coughing
up the fog that collects on
the mountains like rings of
smoke from a cosmic pipe,
and maybe even shepherding
the souls of those who lacked
covered mirrors and funeral
processions and burial rites to
greener, endless pastures. ●
Project and Wikitongues in the
United States and the Mother
Tongue Project in Israel.

Th is is not just a Jewish
issue. Of the 7,000 languages of
the world, about half are now
endangered. Organizations
like these are our last hope
to record them before the last
speakers are gone. We can all
get involved by donating funds,
volunteering or connecting
the projects with speakers of
endangered languages.

May the memories of Flory
Jagoda and Joseph and Kitty
Sassoon be a blessing — and a
wakeup call: We must act now
to preserve their languages and
cultures while we still can. ●
Philadelphia native Dionna Dash
attends the University of Pittsburgh,
where she is a student leader at
Hillel JUC. This piece was fi rst
published by Times of Israel.

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Benor Continued from Page 17
the COVID-19 pandemic,
more speakers of endangered
languages die. If we don’t
interview them now, we will
lose our opportunity forever.

Fortunately, several organi-
zations have been doing this
important work, including
the Endangered Language
Alliance, the Jewish Language
Sarah Bunin Benor is a professor
of contemporary Jewish studies
and linguistics at Hebrew Union
College. She directs the Jewish
Language Project and edits the
Journal of Jewish Languages. This
piece was fi rst published by JTA.

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