The Outward Edge of Joy

Lillian Levin Kahn was born in 1917 in Chicago and received her bachelors from the College of Jewish Studies. She began writing poems in her early 20s and continued to do so throughout her life. In 1943, she met and married a newly ordained Rabbi (Eli J. Kahn) and immediately moved from her native Chicago to his first job as an army chaplain in Columbus, Georgia. As Rabbi's wife, or Rebbitzin, she usually went by the Hebrew name she chose as her own, Chavatzelet, after the Song of Song's Lily of the valley. She followed her husband's 12 moves to new congregations during the next 59 years until his final retirement, packing up everything and recreating a home in each new city for her husband and four children. As Rebbitzen, she often played the role of Educational Director, Teacher and Program Manager, writing poems and plays for both children and adults to present at holiday celebrations. She led a public life, always representing her husband, the congregation, and the entire religion. But privately, for herself, she wrote poems. Only in her poetry could she express her deepest feelings. When, at age 96, she moved to assisted living, she asked her family to save only one thing from her home, her most treasured possession -- a small suitcase filled with poems she had written throughout the years, many of which tell the story of her inner life.