Pritika Chowdhry

Judith Zukerman

An Ethical Will: Our Family Succah from “Amsterdam Days, a journey through poetry”
I grew up in a three generation household where oral storytelling was a part of life along with a deep love and reverence for books. I loved making up stories. I formally entered a writer’s world as I approached my jubilee year, my fiftieth birthday, bringing the richness of a life fully lived. Five major influences were my work experiences, my social activism, my deep connection to my Judaism, to feminism, and living in other countries for three years. Working to become fluent in three languages other than English has deepened my own love of language and shown me the unique beauty of each language and its connection to the culture and people who use it.
L’dor v’dor, from generation to generation, is a significant part of a collection of poems I am currently working on. I was one of the lucky ones because my Jewish world was given to me with beauty and joy by knowledgeable beloved ones in my family. The history of World War II also shaped me and 55 years ago the outer Jewish world helped give birth to a Jewish feminist which is reflected in the part of my collection called This Is For The Women.