All of us are here today out of our great love and admiration for Isadora. We are here to support all of the members of Isadora’s family as they begin to face the reality of her death. I hope that our being together with you today brings some small bit of comfort and helps you to feel that you are not alone. Isadora was sweet and smart from the start. There were no terrible two’s or teenage angst. Her grandfather, Erwin, said that if we practiced another religion, Isadora would be put up for Sainthood because that is what she was. When Isadora was four years old, one of her preschool teachers commented to her mother that if all the teachers were absent, Isadora could run the class for them. She was a natural born leader.Isadora’s mom, Phyllis, shared that every year she would go to parent-teacher conferences and as the teachers would say such nice things about Isadora, she would cry. Along the way, one of the teachers asked her, “Why are you crying? Don’t you know these things about Isadora?” and Phyllis answered, “Yes. I know. I just didn’t realize that other people knew.” There was something so special about Isadora. Isadora was named in Hebrew after her great grandmother Dora Lowenthal. Phyllis wanted to spruce up her English name a bit so she chose “Isadora”, inspired by Isadora Duncan, the dancer. Our Isadora danced from the age of four until she was thirteen years old. Tania, in an endearing way, said “Isadora was cute.” Her cousin Emily told me “The unconditional love and kindness that Isadora had is something that most people outgrow in childhood,” but not for Isadora. Her ability to give came so easily. Isadora loved all things Disney. She loved Israel and she loved being Jewish. She loved community; making and keeping friends. Isadora was fun. She loved driving around in her yellow bug that just suited her so well. She loved to watch cooking shows with her mom and she loved to cook. She loved to eat great food. She loved spending time with her grandparents. She loved doing jigsaw puzzles, like her grandfather. Isadora could do a 5000 piece puzzle in an afternoon. She just had a good eye. She could see where the pieces fit. Isadora loved music. She loved going to the Renaissance Faire each year with her friends from college days. She introduced her family and work friends to the game “Cards Against Humanity!” And while she loved to play games, Isadora was not competitive. She was in it for the fun. For Isadora, it was always about making other people happy. She could not be mean. If she said something mean, she immediately regretted it and apologized. She never wanted to be a burden and was always thinking about others. Isadora was a leader and part of what made her such a good leader was that she had no ego. She was also an enthusiastic doer and a finisher. This was an aspect of Isadora that I had the privilege to see often, When Isadora was president of STISY, our Temple’s Senior Youth Group, her kindness and warmth as a leader shone through. Tasks were accomplished and it seemed that no one could replace Isadora. When she left for college, Isadora promised to come back and chaperone events, which she did. She also came back to teach religious school which gave our whole congregation tremendous pride. Isadora loved teaching at Governor Livingston High School, where she was beloved by students and faculty alike. She made the school a better place. Last year, Isadora coached the junior varsity boys’ tennis team. Her brother, Hilton, teaches at Roselle Park High School and coincidentally coaches the junior varsity boys’ tennis team there. While their two schools do not typically compete, Isadora and Hilton thought it would be fun for the teams to play each other. They arranged a match and it was so much fun. The Seibert name (“Mr. Seibert, Miss Seibert, Coach Seibert”) was bouncing around as much as the ball! Isadora made friends with everyone at work; from the Superintendent to the helpful custodial staff. She did not care about rank or title. She was kind and befriended everyone. She didn’t need fame or fortune. Dora was beautiful both inside and out and no one knew that better than her family. Her sister, Tania, said that Isadora was incredibly nurturing, even if she didn’t always appreciate it. “She loved me wholly and unconditionally and would do anything for me,” were Tania’s words. Isadora completely idolized her brother, Hilton, who shared with me “I never felt that I earned or deserved the love that Dora had for me.” Isadora loved you fiercely, Hilton. For Isadora’s 5th birthday party, Hilton (who was 7 ½ at the time) was the main attraction. He performed an entire magic show for Isadora’s friends. A few years later, Tania celebrated her 5th birthday with a “Wizard of Oz” party. Isadora dressed as a wizard, complete with blue unitard and scarf on her head. She brought out a crystal ball and told fortunes to all of Tania’s friends. The love and bond between siblings was so clear in Hilton, Isadora, and Tania. When Traci came along and married Hilton, Isadora made her family. It wasn’t hard to do.Spending time with her immediate and extended family all together at the Seibert house upstate NY was very important to Isadora. That was her happy place. This past New Years was spent there with much of the extended family at the house. Isadora commented, “I wish we could all stay together like this forever.” Just a few weeks ago, Isadora and thirteen members of her family took a trip to Disneyworld. She had a private meeting with Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, and Goofy. They hugged and kissed Dora. While she loved every minute of it, Isadora was crying. She could not understand why they would make such a fuss and give her such love. Isadora did not see herself as special and she was humbled when people gave her special attention. But Isadora was incredibly special. She might not have seen it but each and every one of us here today saw it! She changed each of us for the better. Isadora was sad for all that she would be missing. She wanted to go back to Ramapo College and earn her Master’s Degree. She wanted to be married someday. She dreamed of being a mother. In the last couple of weeks of her life, Isadora said to her mom, “its okay if I never get married, Mom. I married you. You were my best friend in life.” She was most sad when she thought about all of the family times that she would be missing. What can we do so that Isadora’s life was not in vain? Isadora’s goodness needs to continue. Be kind to each other, because that is what she wanted. Give generously in many ways, as often as possible. Greet each person regardless of rank or title with a warm smile and a kind heart. Celebrate your friendships. Love your family. In doing so, we will carry on the life lessons that Isadora taught all of us and her memory will always be for blessing.

~Rabbi Ellie Miller

  Temple Sharey Tefilo-Israel