I was recently reading Meg Stone’s Blog www.myjewishhome.com and found her blog entitled “Sentimental Saps.” It intrigued me, because I find myself often walking a fine line between keeping something for it’s sentimental value, or just tossing it because I only take it “out of the box” once every decade.
How do we decide what to keep and what to discard?
How do we calculate the intrinsic value of an item?
By throwing away something of sentimental value, are we eliminating some part of our memory bank?
Meg explains it clearly in her blog: “Is it me, or are Jewish families super sentimental? I come from a long line of pack rats, as does my husband. Many of the things we’ve inherited are sentimental heirlooms that have been handed down through the family. Many aren’t even my taste! But I think it’s part of our culture to keep a firm grip on anything and everything tangible that represents our family and to label it as an heirloom so we don’t feel the need to chuck it out. In the past few years I’ve tried to find a happy medium for the balance of keeping what is sentimental without keeping too much. It’s not easy!”
I try to make a distinction between items which truly have an emotion value, vs. things which are just another part of my memory of growing up. Meg is right: It’s not easy. As Meg continues: ” Heirlooms don’t have to be valuable, but they should hold an emotional value to the family that inherits or saves it. For me personally, when we’ve lost family, I’ve kept what can be out on display and used regularly, or the items that would mean something to my children that should be handed down through the generations. For example, my mother-in-law Val was a brilliant cook. She had amazing kitchen gadgets. So after my in-laws passed away I swept through her kitchen and compared her gadgets against mine and upgraded wherever possible. I can feel her watching over my shoulder when I taste my soup with her ladle. And that’s what sentimental heirlooms are all about I think. We want to use their things in a way that lessens the loss and keeps their memory alive with us.”
Yes, we Jews are “Sentimental Saps.” We hold on to things which have historical, and yes, sentimental values. Because history is the foundation of Jewish life. It sends it’s roots deep into the earth. It sits there as our foundation. Our Jewish holidays are surrounded with items that create sentimental values and memories. Each holiday has it’s own set of roots which ground us to past generations as we create memories for our families’ future. From lighting candles together to serving chicken soup from a favorite pot, each item holds emotional values and build banks of memories to keep and pass on to our children and grandchildren.
Filling my home with hand made “soon to be artifacts” has been a labor of love, whether it is the unique Hanukkah Menorah my daughter made out of clay in sixth grade or my Mother’s Sterling Silver Seder Plate; whether it is the Challoh Cover I found in the Old Jaffa Flea Market or the special ceramic box I made for spent matches.
Thank you Meg Stone – I AM A SENTIMENTAL SAP and glad to be!
Are you a “Sentimental Sap?” What are you keeping and what are you throwing away as you prepare for Passover?