The Three Kiddush Cups: In Living Memory of Virginia Leffel and Irving Leffel

Submitted by Linda Landow

My mom, Virginia Leffel, passed away 51 years ago. My dad, Irving Leffel, continued to live in our house in Rockville Center until his passing 19 years later. When my brothers and I were going through the house, I found a set of 12 sterling silver kiddush cups.

Having not been used in years, they were in terrible condition with broken stems and all tarnished. I took them to a silversmith who was able to restore them. I decided to keep three for my three young children and give the rest to close family members. These three cups are on my Passover table every year and are the kiddush cups that my children, now adults, use for their four cups of wine at the Passover seder. When my son Marc was married 22 years ago, the Rabbi wanted to use a family kiddush cup for the ceremony. Marc thought of his Seder cup and it became part of his wedding ceremony. By restoring and using these special Kiddush cups, our family has been keeping the memories alive for more than 50 years!