Dear Parshal:

What is more devastating than one’s mother turning a blind eye to her daughter being mistreated and then, blaming her for suffering the results of that abuse, the abused she allowed?

What can be more devastating?

There is a lot that children can endure, including hunger, poverty, losses of all kinds, if there is someone there to comfort them, someone on there for them.

What appears to be more devastating circumstances are less devastating if one is not alone.

You wrote that you don’t know if you have ever known who you truly are. Unfortunately we think who we are is what is reflected by others: if we are mistreated, we think we deserve that, that we are unlovable.

But notice this: in the beginning, before you were able to entertain the thoughts of who you were, you still were. And what you were was a lovable, loving little girl.

You didn’t know it, but you were just that.

anita