By Tzipporah Prottas

The afternoon sun clothes my home in a gold gown,
Richly lighting my bustling town.
Little pockets of quite peace can be found
If you look, since the sun is going down.
The Marina is my place to be,
With the stout benches over-looking the gleaming water
Gently waved by a calm breeze.

 I slip down there one afternoon
I need to daven to Hashem.
I seek to share the candlestick in my bag,
A little tool that can share a much greater gem.
To inspire to light, I cannot seem to find a girl
To carry on the legacy that continues to unfurl.
Hashem will bring me to find a girl,
I haven’t searched the whole world.
I begin to feel frustration.
“Please open my eyes Hashem,
I need to fulfill my mission,
O Master of Creation!”
————————————

Who is this girl I wonder,
As I lean against the rail
I dwell on upon my dreams and questions,
And my past– my life’s tale.
All my life I’ve been craving
Something a little more
I’ve been surrounded by cheap materialism,
And it aches down at my core.
I know there is something greater I can be doing,
But where do I start?!  I feel so lost!

I turn to the sound of low-voiced prayer;
It is a girl standing a few feet away
Gazing over the water just like me,
Up till now I didn’t see her there!
“Excuse me,” I say, “I couldn’t help but overhear you pray…
Can you teach me? I wish to learn how, someday.”

“Yes,” I stammer, a little bit surprised.
A smile passes between us,
We catch each other’s eyes…

We sit and chat, getting to know each other,
Something deep is passing between us.

I look her over,
And there is something about her..
A lot is common between us…
I tentatively ask “Are you Jewish?”

A light sparks in her eyes,
She’s remembering a word from long ago
“Yes,” she whispers… “I think so”.

——————————————

I explain to her the basics of prayer,
And up to Shamayim, at times, I stare.
“Hashem,” I wonder, “is this who You have sent me?”

She slips my siddur from my hands, and caresses it gently.
She flips to “Sabbath Candle-lighting”–
I know the moment’s happening.

—————————————

A spark was lit today,
As I walk away
From the Marina,
A smile on my face,
A new friend made.

She now has my candlestick,
To cherish and light as her own.
Thank you Hashem,
A new life of Yidddishkeit and light has been sown!