“My husband is Israeli and was born and raised on a very secular kibbutz. So he’s a farmer and I’m a city girl. I met him on a blind date through a friend in my Israeli folk dancing group. He had a beautiful smile, a good sense of humor, was handsome, and, of course, was glad I had a love of Israel.

We moved to St. Charles from New York in 1998. It was a welcome change. In New York, life and everything moves in a hurry and is on the minute. People have no patience. And here, everything is slower. Kinder. I love Old Town St. Charles and its buildings. To me, they resemble many of the old towns on Long Island with a lot of culture and history. My family and I have fallen in love with this place and made a life here. And I always thought we were the only Jewish family until I learned there was a very large Jewish community here.

My favorite family traditions are during Passover and Chanukah. My son and daughter have many non-Jewish friends, so during these holidays, we’ve invited them over for the past 10 years for seders and Chanukah meals. Different groups of their friends came each night. There are nonstop latkes, gelt, dreidel games, charoses, matzah, matzah balls, and chicken soup. Many of their friends are very religious and they learn about the Old Testament, Jewish traditions, and history in their churches. They ask us questions like, ‘Why has there been so much persecution of Jews?’ And they want us to teach them the prayers to light Chanukah candles and sing all the popular holiday tunes. Some of our children’s friends now have children of their own, so I'm glad we are continuing our traditions of including them in our holiday celebrations. My father was a shammus and both my parents were immersed in Judaism. Although my husband had a very secular upbringing, it’s important that we’re keeping Jewish traditions alive in our home. That’s what we want and what my parents would have wanted.”

📷| Bill Motchan