Chesbed for Gertie Schiller z"l Geitel bat Mendel Rabbi Aaron Goldstein 17 January 2012

Maureen , Michael and Gillian, as you spoke about your mother last night, there was a reoccurring theme. It was of vision. Your mother was a visionary and you made me think of the female visionaries of our ancient tradition.

The ancient Rabbis suggested that there were 7 prophetesses mentioned in the Tanakh – the Hebrew Bible. Of them, it was Miriam who I kept coming back to. From the Torah, we understand her to be a woman who was the fulcrum in the family. She nurtured, nudged, loved her family and celebrated freedom. Midrashically, through rabbinic tradition and my own, she was a provider, meticulous and hard-working, skillful and fun to be around.

We are told that Miriam was a prophetess, a visionary, someone who understood the future, ahead of her time. Gertie was certainly this. She excelled in school gaining 3 scholarships, a unique occasion for the school who ordained a day off for everyone to celebrate the fact. In time, though she had to drop one of the scholarship courses, her true passion, embroidery, with her father’s guidance she enhanced her natural talents to become utterly gifted and talented in dressmaking.

She knew how to make her own way in life and build a business. From a corner in her father and uncle’s tailoring room, she rapidly built a business through her self-conviction and hard graft, winning contracts and fulfilling them by herself before finally taking on staff. Gertie and Ben built a successful dress factory before becoming one of the first entrants to the launderette market.

Gertie was more than just a visionary in business. She was one of the first Middle Class Jewesses to drive, to holiday abroad, and to take Cordon Bleu cookery classes. But most of all, she had a unique talent to see and transform. The eye and the finger were so naturally talented but what joined them was true inspiration, recognized by the London School of Fashion and later of Needlework, and most especially, by her family.

To walk into the most expensive designer boutiques of the West End and pick out your favourite designs and materials and know that your mother would not only recreate it for you but better, improve on it using the finest materials – you recognized her unique vision. The wedding dresses, party dresses, fancy dress, the bolts of cotton cloth to be transformed overnight into gifts for staff, friends and family – pure vision.

Gertie’s vision was also trained on people and particularly her family. As Miriam nurtured, cared for, and loved her brother Moses and their bond with their mother, Yochabed, so Gertie, with Ben’s support did for her family.

Bringing Sidney from the armed forces to train as a skilled cutter and nurturing him and Norma to take over the dress factory. Encouraging and seeking the best and most appropriate schools for her children and creating a loving, nosh filled oasis for her grandchildren.

As Miriam was attributed to have a well that watered the Israelites in the wilderness, so did Gertie water and feed her family! Meticulously, whatever the occasion and wherever it was, whether adapting to new experiences abroad mixing orange squash with wine to maintaining a stock of champagne in the fridge, Gertie provided for and celebrated life – the pop of a cork Gertie’s timbrel leading those around to party.

I imagine Miriam as the leader of people, of individuals; not of a society that Moses led or a as Aaron led, a religious congregation. It takes meticulous planning, energy, immense effort and hard work to lead people through years in a wilderness. For all Gertie’s achievements, behind the fastidious cleanliness in the home or on holiday – to the point of wiping external handrails lest her children dirty themselves – was pure hard work. You all mucked in to make things possible but she did not delegate to stand idle. She did so to allow her to maintain her home, business and generosity to others: To make a wedding dress with 2 wrists in plaster, to maintain pride and self-esteem to the highest exacting standards.

What a eulogy, what a legacy, but all true and of course there is more that you will share today and into years ahead.

You described her as the glue of the family. Gertie gave gifts in life to you all: children, grandchildren, brother, friend, even as a client of Bushey House teaching staff Yiddish words. But her lasting legacy will be that adhesiveness.

Perhaps not one of you will match her a pot of glue or as Miriam excelled in maintaining a nomadic people as one. Yet, I pray that you all bring a thread that will bring you together as a family, at this time to celebrate Gertie’s life but also in the future to celebrate occasions in your life and well, just life.

The thread that Gertie used to bring together with such vision and skill, pieces of cloth, lace, cotton, all the finest’ may you use them to be brought together into what is Gertie’s finest ever work, her glorious pride and legacy, you her family.

Amen