Eat, Pray, Be a Man

I was talking on the phone with my Uncle Bud who is almost 83 years old. He is my only Uncle and holds a very special place in my heart. He always makes me laugh and think at the same time, my favorite kind of person. I don't get to see him as often as I would like, but I do enjoy our phone chats.
His parents and grandparents came to the United States from Eastern Europe one hundred years ago to escape the pogroms of the Russian Tsar. My great grandparents spoke Yiddish and my Uncle was conversant in this language as a teen. My uncle is not religious, but he is spiritual in a way forever touched by his World War II service in an infantry tank who liberated the death camps of Dachau and Treblinka in Europe.
My dear Uncle was telling me about a conversation with his grandfather (namesake of our youngest son) where he was describing what the term "Ess, bench, sei a mensch" ("Eat, Pray, Be a Man" in Yiddish) meant for him. Greatgrandfather said that with the uncertainty of never knowing when your home was going to be raided, or never knowing when you might eat, or pray again, or be able to practice a kindness, that you must fully take of these moments and savor them.
I found so much power and a gift in this simple, humble phrase because of this shared context. I appreciate my Uncle Bud for telling me this story and I will make sure to give this gift to my children and family. I am reminded how blessed I am, we all are, to be able to provide for our families, worship (or not) as we choose, walk down the street unaccosted, and be able to find some peace on our path.
I am also reminded of the power of language and how wisdom and love can reach across generations and time.