Episode 33 - Devora Mason: A Beautiful Citizen of Our World

Devora Mason is regular folk. Not that her way is mundane or even average, quite the opposite. Devora is colorful and fancy. She's one of 7.7 billion people in this world who travel through life  working arduously on growth, try to raise their children to be upstanding citizens and who struggle to make a decent living so she can afford to make thing right for all those she support.

That's Devora...with a healthy smidgeon of 'unique'. 

Episode 33 is a schmooze with my niece, Devora Mason who is a beautiful and vivacious personality with a beaming smile- a Rosensweig smile.  It became clear to me, after a few years of not really hanging out with her, that Devora has evolved into a wise forty-something woman with cogent thoughts and opinions. 3:12 She has adopted our family's way, and that is to smile and say hello to people, strangers, she meets along the road, something anathema to Israeli culture. So that's Devora!

Devora lives in Efrat, a town near Jerusalem. Terrorist attacks are perpetrated regularly along the road outside of Efrat where her children travel to get to school and work. My niece has five children, four boys and a girl - the boys are religious, her daughter is not.

1:17:41 Devora is a single Mom. You can imagine the worry. 1:19:07 Devora makes a prayer before making a big decision for her children.  Listen to the interview at 51:44 where Devora talks about her life in the context of raising her kids, and how she just knows pain and suffering will come her way, so she does everything to minimize it. That is very Israeli. Not a single Israeli ducks the pain of living in the Middle East and being surrounded by enemies.

Devora's life is dynamic. 7:42 Shes speaks extensively at the beginning of the show about her love for her parents, Jack and Etti (my sister), and how special they are, allowing their children to grow up according to their nature. At the 10:43 mark Devora schmoozes about her sister who is a Breslower Chasid - a person who adheres to the very strict and conservative lifestyle of previous generations. When her sister and children visit, the I-pads goes away and the TV stay off. No movies. And Devora loves her to bits as she loves all her five siblings.

Devora Mason, my guest on episode 33, is friends with Jews of all denominations, Christians, Muslims and people of all backgrounds. She seems to thrive off the diversity in her life. When I asked her if she's religious (all our family grew up that way), she responded, "I'm spiritual", and shares with me her trek to 55:57 become a yoga instructor. 

Devora adores Israel. Listen to the 24:24 mark of the show when she describes her work running an innovation centre inside the Tower of David Museum. Every day she'd go to work, go to her office in one one of the towers that King Herod built. She'd go up to the balcony and have a 360 degree view of Jerusalem. 

Devora has difficulties with Israel. She has no expectations of making a lot of money as that simply won't happen. She says there is a lot of hardship in Israel/Jerusalem 27:43, and she's frustrated with the government 42:34 and says the people are really directing the country and the government is out of step. "I feel the country is the people today, not because of the leaders but inspite of them." 

1:22:16 "My focus in life is to reach bliss."  This is Devora Mason, a multi-faceted woman, a citizen of our very complex and simple world, working hard to understand herself, to raise her children, frequently challenged by the many pitfalls of life.

Beautifully and appropriately, my Devora completes the schmooze at 1:33:11 singing the classic Yiddish song, "Ofyn Pripetchick', followed by 'The Picnic Song', this in memory of her Boobie (grandmother), and in honor of the life she leads.

Listening to the show, and writing this blurb I feel so lucky Devora is my niece. She truly is a gem of a human being, someone to emulate and one of us regular folk.

Hatradio! The show that schmoozes.