When did you last move from one domicile to another, downsizing in the process? Maybe you have yet to experience that upheaval, or having done it, you might rather allow the passage of time to swallow up that memory.

The selling, the giving away, the trashing — what goes in which pile? The sorting, the packing — only to discover that what you can’t possibly live without, alas, can’t possibly fit in the new space. And yet, in spite of its frustrations, the experience has its rewards. In no other lifetime event will you touch every single article/item you own — every single one, from the paperclips loosely floating in your desk drawer to the mittens stuffed into the pockets of your double-breasted camel hair Chesterfield coat, not worn since college days, but always too precious to give away.

For me, pawing through the shelves and boxes of books, consigning each one to a save pile or a donate pile, provided the most difficult decision-making as well as a great pleasure. Why can’t I bring all of them? And yet, in the chaos, I re-discovered a slim volume, its blue cover and gold lettering faded, its pages yellowed with the patina of age, yet the memories of that gift as vivid as the day it was presented to me, its contents much treasured.

And what is this hallowed work? It is titled The Jewish Home Beautiful, written by Betty Greenberg and Althea O. Silverman in 1941, published and reprinted 13 times until 1975 by the Women’s League of the United Synagogue. Indeed, some readers of this column may own a copy still. It was inscribed to me by Mrs. Betty G. Fox, president of the Sisterhood of Temple B’Nai Israel, the shul where I grew up. The inscription is dated Nov. 26, 1961, the day Bruce Bloom and I were married there. Contained in this book are recipes for various foods associated with the major Jewish holidays, the accouterments that belong on the dinner tables, customs followed by observant families, and photos of well-dressed holiday tables.

While working and raising a family, did I have time to be the Jewish wife whose culinary skills mimicked the book’s descriptions? And did my holiday tables look like those pictured in the book? Hardly. And yet, through the years, I have consulted that book faithfully before every holiday, mostly for the recipes, just a little bit, maybe, for the kind of table I might set one day…when time allows.

Turning to the pages devoted to Rosh Hashanah and the High Holy Days, I found this passage: “In the autumn, when decay temporarily overtakes the physical world, we open our year with the great Holy Days, testifying to our faith in the indestructibility of the spirit, and in the God-given power to renew our spiritual lives. These awe-inspiring days head the procession of Sabbaths, festivals and feast days that annually recall events that forged Jewish destiny, and molded Jewish thought and Jewish life.

“These outstanding days of the Jewish year will now pass in rapid procession before us. As we gaze upon the beauty of each scene…we shall then realize that Judaism is a thing of joy and beauty…”

Part with this book? Oh no. Not this one. I shall revere it always, as I will the memory of Mrs. Betty G. Fox for her thoughtful gift.

L’Shanah Tovah to all.

— Sara Bloom