An Extraordinary Thing.
Adina Rothschild Locketz, 16 of Minnetonka, Minnesota, participating on the four week long NFTY Chalutzim B’Aretz trip and spent four days hiking sea to sea, Yam L’Yam on the Israel National Trail, camping out and having a blast with friends.
Hayden Cole Taylor, 16, of Toronto, Ontario, embarking on his trip to Israel to compete on the Maccabi Canada Baseball Team in Tel Aviv. He pitches and plays first base and outfield.
There is a lot that our ancestors probably could not have imagined about the world their descendants would live in. Two things I can safely say with certain never entered their wildest of imaginations is that a girl that came from them would hike with her friends on the Israel National Trail from the Sea of Galilee to the Mediterranean Sea - Yam L’Yam, THE SAME WEEK that a boy that came from them would fly to Tel Aviv to play baseball representing Canada in the Maccabi Games.
Hayden Cole Taylor and Adina Rothschild Locketz share many relatives in common up their family trees. All of them are, or would be, proud of who they are, what they are doing, and how the family story continues on through them.
Hayden and Adina share GreatGreatGreat Grandparents, Koppel and Rosa (nee Strauss) Rothschild. Koppel (1845 to 1931) was a cattle dealer and a teacher of Torah. He lived his whole life in Hörstein. Rosa (1846-1918) came from Mittelsinn. The Modern Land of Israel would have only been a fantasy to them. And given that the world they knew would be destroyed…that the generations would fan out, yet remain connected to each other and to the traditions of our People…is perhaps the eternal hope fulfilled through one’s children and children’s children. May their memory, and the memory of their existence, be a blessing for the whole family.
And let the irony not be lost that Adina’s itinerary crosses over with Hayden’s entourage just ever so briefly, and if all the stars align, she’ll have a minute to hug her grandparents in the gift shop at Yad VaShem.
GOOD LUCK HAYDEN! ADINA ENJOY EACH OF THESE LAST MOMENTS!
